Recording and reproduction apparatus and recording and reproduction method

ABSTRACT

In the case where plural applications are executed at the same time, if each application instructs for different trick play to the same content, a difference is caused between an ideal reproduction state expected by each application and an actual reproduction state. The present invention makes it possible to keep the reproduction state unchanged as long as normal reproduction or trick play is not accepted, by including a moving picture trick play reproduction management unit which determines, in response to an instruction for one of normal reproduction and trick play, whether or not to accept, according to a rule, the instruction, and retains details specified by the instruction in the case of accepting the instruction, and a moving picture reproduction processing unit which reproduces a moving picture based on the details retained by the moving picture trick play management unit.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Applications No.60/685377, filed May 31, 2005, and No. 60/752887, filed Dec. 23, 2005,the contents of which are herein incorporated by reference in theirentirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

(1) Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a recording and reproduction apparatuswhich accumulates contents and reproduces the accumulated contents. Inparticular, the present invention relates to an exclusive trick playcontrol system for use with the recording and reproduction apparatus fortrick play processing.

(2) Description of the Related Art

Various contents are included in a broadcast wave sent from abroadcasting station. Aside from video and audio used in a normaltelevision program, there are cases where data is included in thecontents. There are several methods for sending the data, which can beroughly divided into a method of sending the data chronologically and amethod of repeatedly sending the data per set interval. In the formermethod of sending the data chronologically, for example, data thatcontinues of the course of time is sent in sequential order. This methodis suitable for sending large amounts of data over a long period oftime, but there is a drawback in that data which could not be receiveddue to timing of the send cannot be received again. On the other hand,in the latter method of repeatedly sending the data at a set interval,the same data is repeatedly sent any number of times during a fixedperiod. This method has an advantage in that during the period when thesame data is being sent, it is acceptable to receive any one of therepeatedly-sent pieces of data, and thus the timing of receiving is notlimited.

For instance, data broadcast, represented by BML, and file sendingthrough DSMCC data carousel are examples of this method. It is unknown,particularly in broadcast, when a recipient will select a channel andcommence reception. In the method of sending the data chronologically,when the reception is commenced after the timing of the send andacquisition of the data fails, the data cannot be re-acquired.Therefore, when sending data such as an application program along withvideo and audio in the broadcast wave, the method of repeatedly sendingthe data per set interval is favorable.

At present, specifications for receiving a broadcast wave that includesvideo, audio, and an application program and executing the applicationprogram in synchronization with video and audio, as in the above method,have been developed, and are in operation. It is possible to receive thesent application program, load the application program in a terminal,and implement various additional functions by executing the loadedapplication program, rather than simply viewing the ordinary video andaudio. This method for sending the application program and loading theapplication program in the terminal is also called “downloading”. Forexample, a specification called Digital Video Broadcasting—MultimediaHome Platform (DVB-MHP) ETSI ES 201 812 V1.1.1 (2003-12) has beendeveloped in Europe, and operations according to this specification havealready commenced.

In addition, OCAP 1.0 (Open Cable Application PlatformOC-SP-OCAP1.0-114-050119) specification, which provides the samespecification in the cable broadcast environment in the United States,is being developed in the United States, and actually operations are setto commence in 2005. In these specifications, the application is writtenin the Java language. In the terminal, various types of ApplicationProgramming Interface (API) for tuning and graphics displaying areprepared so that the Java application can control those functions bycalling the API.

In addition, in North America, the OCAP-DVR specification(OC-SP-OCAP-DVR-I01-040524), which is aimed at adding a function forrecording and reproducing the contents in the OCAP specification, isbeing developed. This is for recording the content to be broadcast (suchas video, audio, and an application) and further reproducing therecorded content as well as the content to be broadcast.

Moreover, with OCAP-DVR, trick play of contents is realized by recordingbroadcast contents to a high-speed random-accessible storage medium,such as a hard disk, a semiconductor memory, and the like. Here, thetrick play refers to functions for reproducing the contents at anarbitrary speed, from an arbitrary position, and so on, such asfast-forward, rewind, slow-motion, pause, and skip. With OCAP-DVR, theapplication taken into the terminal from the broadcast wave can controlthe recording and trick play of contents by defining the API on theterminal for the recording and trick play. In particular, a Java MediaFramework (JMF) is adopted for the trick play. The JMF is an API whichis designed in Java language and used for controlling the reproductionof video and audio. The application can perform trick play by sendingvarious instructions to a class called Player. Also, a technique forrealizing the trick play is described in the Patent Reference “EP 0 692123”. Specifically, it is a method of easily manufacturing areproduction apparatus (mainly software) which reproduces video andaudio (contents). The method can easily realize a consistency between anoriginal time axis of the content and a time axis actually used by thereproduction apparatus, by physically and conceptually integrating theconcepts of time.

In the case where plural applications are executed at the same time, ifeach of the applications instructs, on the same content, to performdifferent trick play, a difference is caused between an idealreproduction state intended by each application and an actualreproduction state.

This problem is obvious in the case where there are an application whichis linked with a certain program and an application which is not linkedwith the program. For example, the application linked with the programknows optimum instruction timing of trick play of the program. While theapplication instructs to perform trick play at the optimum instructiontiming, if the application which is not linked with the program sends adifferent instruction for trick play, an optimum trick play resultcannot be obtained. In the case where the plural applications separatelyinstructs, on the same video and audio, to perform trick play using theknown technique represented by the JMF, a reproduction state unexpectedby the application is created since each of the applications cannotprevent trick play instructions sent from other applications. As theresult, unexpected operations and malfunctions of the applications arecaused so that the optimum trick play result cannot be obtained.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In order to realize the aforementioned object, a recording andreproduction apparatus of the present invention is a recording andreproduction apparatus which receives and records a content included ina broadcast wave, and executes an application program included in apredetermined service in parallel with reproduction of the recordedcontent. The recording and reproduction apparatus includes: a storageunit in which the received content and the application program arestored; an execution unit which executes the application program; areproduction unit which reproduces the content stored in the storageunit; and a reproduction speed control unit which receives areproduction speed of the content requested by the application program,and controls a reproduction speed of the content to be reproduced by thereproduction unit so as to be in the received reproduction speed,wherein, in the case where there are a first application program whichhas requested the reproduction speed of the content already accepted asa normal reproduction and a second application program which requests anew reproduction speed, when receiving the new reproduction speedrequest, the reproduction speed control unit accepts the newreproduction speed request from the second application program.

Accordingly, a reproduction status cannot be changed as long as notreceiving a trick reproduction. Therefore, an unexpected operation ormalfunction of the application program can be prevented, and an optimumtrick play result can be obtained. Consequently, it can be prevented theviewers from being confused.

Furthermore, in order to realize the aforementioned object, a recordingand reproduction apparatus of the present invention is a recording andreproduction apparatus which receives and records a content included ina broadcast wave, and executes an application program included in apredetermined service in parallel with reproduction of the recordedcontent. The recording and reproduction apparatus includes: a storageunit in which the received content and the application program arestored; an execution unit which executes the application program; areproduction unit which reproduces the content stored in the storageunit; and a reproduction speed control unit which receives areproduction speed of the content requested by the application program,and controls a reproduction speed of the content to be reproduced by thereproduction unit so as to be in the received reproduction speed,wherein in the case where a first application program which hasrequested the reproduction speed of the content already accepted as anormal reproduction and a second application program which requests anew reproduction speed are different, when receiving the newreproduction speed request, the reproduction speed control compares apriority level of the first application program with a priority level ofthe second application program, and controls the reproduction speed ofthe content so as to be in a reproduction speed requested by theapplication with a higher priority level.

Accordingly, it can be prevented the application program with a lowpriority level from changing the reproduction status while anapplication program is changing the reproduction speed. Therefore, anunexpected operation or malfunction of the application program can beprevented, and an optimum trick play result can be obtained.Consequently, it can be prevented the viewers from being confused.

Furthermore, the reproduction speed control unit may determine whetheror not the first application program and the second application programbelong to different services by comparing information relating to anidentifier of a service to which the first application program belongswith information relating to an identifier of a service to which thesecond application program belongs; and refuse a reproduction speedchange request from the second application program, in the case wherethe second application program does not belong to the service of thefirst application program.

Accordingly, while an application program is changing the reproductionspeed, only an application program which belongs to the same service asthat application program can change the reproduction status.

Furthermore, the reproduction speed control unit may determine whetheror not the first application program and the second application programbelong to different services by comparing information relating to anidentifier of a service to which the first application program belongswith information relating to an identifier of a service to which thesecond application program belongs; and in the case where the secondapplication program belongs to the service of the first applicationprogram, when the priority level of the second application program ishigher than the priority level of the first application program, controlthe reproduction speed of the content so as to be in the reproductionspeed requested by the second application program.

Accordingly, it can be prevented the application program with a lowpriority level from changing the reproduction status while anapplication program is changing the reproduction speed.

Furthermore, in the case where the priority level of the firstapplication program is same as the priority level of the secondapplication program, the reproduction speed control unit may control thereproduction speed of the content so as to be in the reproduction speedrequested by the second application program.

Accordingly, it can be prevented the viewers from being confused even inthe case where two applications programs have the same priority level.

Furthermore, the reproduction speed of the content which has beenalready accepted having been requested by the first application programmay be a reproduction speed which is different from the reproductionspeed for a normal reproduction.

It should be noted that the present invention can be realized as theaforementioned recording and reproduction apparatus, the recording andreproduction method, a program, or as a recording medium for storingsuch program.

FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUT TECHNICAL BACKGROUND TO THIS APPLICATION

The disclosures of U.S. Provisional Applications No. 60/685377 filed onMay 31, 2005 and No. 60/752887 filed on Dec. 23, 2005, each includingspecification, drawings and claims are incorporated herein by referencein their entirety.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other objects, advantages and features of the invention willbecome apparent from the following description thereof taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings that illustrate a specificembodiment of the invention. In the Drawings:

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a structure of a cable television systemaccording to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 shows an example of the usage of frequency bands used forcommunications between a head end and terminal apparatuses in the cabletelevision system according to the present invention;

FIG. 3 shows an example of the usage of frequency bands used forcommunications between the head end and the terminal apparatuses in thecable television system according to the present invention;

FIG. 4 shows an example of the usage of frequency bands used forcommunications between the head end and the terminal apparatuses in thecable television system according to the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration of a terminal apparatus inthe cable television system according to the present invention;

FIG. 6 shows an example of an external view of the terminal apparatus inthe cable television system according to the present invention;

FIG. 7 shows an example external view of an input unit 513 in the casewhere it is configured in the form of a front panel;

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a structure of a packet defined in the MPEGstandard;

FIG. 9 shows an example of an MPEG-2 transport stream;

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a structure of the program stored in aterminal apparatus 500 according to the present invention;

FIG. 11 shows an example of a screen displayed by a display 509according to the present invention;

FIG. 12 shows an example of information stored in a secondary storageunit 510 according to the present invention;

FIG. 13 shows an example of information stored in a primary storage unit511 according to the present invention;

FIG. 14 shows an example of a screen displayed by the display 509according to the present invention;

FIG. 15 shows an example of information stored in a primary storage unit511 according to the present invention;

FIG. 16 shows an example of a screen displayed by the display 509according to the present invention;

FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram showing the details of a PAT specified inthe MPEG-2 standard according to the present invention;

FIG. 18 is a schematic diagram showing the details of a PMT specified inthe MPEG-2 standard according to the present invention;

FIG. 19 is a schematic diagram showing the details of an AIT specifiedin the OCAP1.0 standard according to the present invention;

FIG. 20 is a schematic diagram showing a file system sent in DSMCCformat according to the present invention;

FIG. 21 is a schematic diagram showing the details of an XAIT accordingto the present invention;

FIG. 22 shows an example of a screen displayed by the display 509according to the present invention;

FIG. 23 shows an example of information stored in a primary storage unit511 according to the present invention;

FIG. 24 shows an example of information stored in the primary storageunit 511 according to the present invention;

FIG. 25 is a diagram showing a structure of JMF 1205 a according to thepresent invention;

FIG. 26 shows an example of information stored in the primary storageunit 511 according to the present invention;

FIG. 27 is a diagram which shows a specific example of a moving picturegeneration speed management unit according to the present invention;

FIG. 28 is diagram which shows a specific example of a moving picturereproduction processing unit according to the present invention;

FIG. 29 is a flowchart according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 30 is a flowchart according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 31 is a flowchart according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 32 shows an example of information stored in a primary storage unit511 according to the present invention;

FIG. 33 is a flowchart according to the second embodiment;

FIG. 34 is a flowchart according to the third embodiment;

FIG. 35 is a flowchart according to the fourth embodiment;

FIG. 36 is a flowchart according to the fourth embodiment;

FIG. 37 is a flowchart according to the fifth embodiment;

FIG. 38 is a flowchart according to the fifth embodiment;

FIG. 39 shows an example of information stored in the primary storageunit 511 according to the present invention;

FIG. 40 shows an example of information stored in the primary storageunit 511 according to the present invention;

FIG. 41 shows an example of information stored in the primary storageunit 511 according to the present invention;

FIG. 42 is a flowchart according to the sixth embodiment;

FIG. 43 is diagram which shows a specific example of recordingreservation processing according to the sixth embodiment;

FIG. 44 is a flowchart according to the seventh embodiment;

FIG. 45 is a flowchart according to the seventh embodiment;

FIG. 46 is a flowchart according to the seventh embodiment;

FIG. 47 shows an example of information stored in the primary storageunit 511 according to the present invention;

FIG. 48 shows an example of information stored in the primary storageunit 511 according to the present invention;

FIG. 49 is a diagram showing a configuration of a terminal apparatus inthe cable television system according to the eighth embodiment;

FIG. 50 is diagram which shows an example of an AIT according to theeighth embodiment;

FIG. 51 is diagram which shows an example of an XAIT according to theeighth embodiment; and

FIG. 52 is a flowchart according to the eighth embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

In order to overcome the conventional problems, the present inventionincludes: a moving picture trick play management unit which determines,in response to an instruction for one of normal reproduction and trickplay, whether or not to accept, according to a rule, the instruction,and in the case of accepting the instruction, to retain detailsspecified by the accepted instruction; and a moving picture reproductionprocessing unit which reproduces a moving picture based on the detailsretained by the moving picture trick play management unit. Accordingly,the reproduction status cannot be changed as far as not receiving one ofnormal reproduction and trick play.

Furthermore, the moving picture trick play management unit furtheraccepts an instruction for one of normal reproduction and trick playfrom a program, and does not accept, while retaining the detailsspecified by the accepted instruction, an instruction for one of normalreproduction and trick play from another program. Accordingly, it can beprevented that the reproduction status is to be changed by anotherprogram while a program is changing the reproduction speed.

Furthermore, the moving picture trick play management unit furtheraccepts an instruction for one of normal reproduction and trick playfrom a program, and does not accept, while retaining the detailsspecified by the accepted instruction, an instruction for one of normalreproduction and trick play from another program which belongs to adifferent category than the program. Accordingly, while the program ischanging the reproduction speed, only program which belongs to the samecategory as the program can change the reproduction status.

Furthermore, the moving picture trick play management unit furtheraccepts an instruction for one of normal reproduction and trick playfrom a program, and does not accept, while retaining the detailsspecified by the accepted instruction, an instruction for one of normalreproduction and trick play from another program which belongs to adifferent service than the program. Accordingly, while the program ischanging the reproduction speed, only program which belongs to the sameservice as the program can change the reproduction status.

Furthermore, the moving picture trick play management unit furtheraccepts an instruction for one of normal reproduction and trick playfrom a program, and does not accept, while retaining the detailsspecified by the accepted instruction, an instruction for one of normalreproduction and trick play from another program which has a differentidentifier than the program. Accordingly, while the program is changingthe reproduction speed, only program which has the same identifier asthat of the program can change the reproduction status.

Furthermore, the moving picture trick play management unit furtheraccepts an instruction for one of normal reproduction and trick playfrom a program, and does not accept, while retaining the detailsspecified by the accepted instruction, an instruction for one of normalreproduction and trick play from another program which has a lowerpriority level than the program. Accordingly, while the program ischanging the reproduction speed, it can be prevented that the programhaving a lower priority level changes the reproduction status.

Furthermore, the moving picture trick play management unit furtheraccepts an instruction for one of normal reproduction and trick playfrom a program, and does not accept, while retaining the detailsspecified by the accepted instruction, an instruction for one of normalreproduction and trick play from another program which belongs to adifferent service and has a lower priority level than the program.Accordingly, while the program is changing the reproduction speed, onlyprogram which belongs to the same service and has a higher prioritylevel as the program can change the reproduction status.

Furthermore, the moving picture trick play management unit furtheraccepts only an instruction for one of normal reproduction and trickplay from one or more predetermined programs. Accordingly, while theprogram is changing the reproduction speed, it can be prevented that aprogram that is different from a specific program changes thereproduction status.

Furthermore, the moving picture trick play management unit furtheraccepts only an instruction for one of normal reproduction and trickplay from one or more predetermined programs included in a content to bebroadcast. Accordingly, while the program is changing the reproductionspeed, it can be prevented that a program included in a content which isdifferent from a specific content to be broadcast changes thereproduction status.

Furthermore, the moving picture trick play management unit furtheraccepts only an instruction for one of normal reproduction and trickplay from one or more predetermined programs included in a recordedcontent. Accordingly, while the program is changing the reproductionspeed, it can be prevented that a program included in a content which isdifferent from a specific content to be recorded changes thereproduction status.

Furthermore, the moving picture trick play management unit furtheraccepts only an instruction for one of normal reproduction and trickplay from one or more predetermined programs included in an abstractservice. Accordingly, while the program is changing the reproductionspeed, it can be prevented that a program included in a content which isdifferent from a specific abstract service changes the reproductionstatus.

Furthermore, the moving picture trick play management unit furtheraccepts only an instruction for one of normal reproduction and trickplay from a program having an identifier within a certain range.Accordingly, while the program is changing the reproduction speed, onlyprogram having an identifier in certain range can change thereproduction status.

Furthermore, the present invention further includes a reservationmanagement unit which manages a right to send an instruction for one ofnormal reproduction and trick play to the moving picture trick playmanagement unit, wherein the moving picture trick play management unitaccepts only an instruction for one of normal reproduction and trickplay from a program having the right managed by the reservationmanagement unit. Accordingly, it can be prevented that a program whichdoes not have the right changes the reproduction status.

Furthermore, the moving picture trick play management unit furtheraccepts an instruction for trick play from a program, and does notaccept, while retaining details specified by the accepted instruction,an instruction for one of normal reproduction and trick play fromanother program. Accordingly, it can be prevented that, while theprogram is performing trick play, another program changes thereproduction status.

Furthermore, the present invention further includes a recordingreservation management unit which provides, to a program which hasinstructed the moving picture reproduction processing unit to reproducea moving picture, a right to give an instruction for trick play, and inthe case where the program instructs the moving picture reproductionprocessing unit to stop the reproduction of the moving picture, todeprive the right to give an instruction for trick play, wherein themoving picture trick play management unit accepts only an instructionfor one of normal reproduction and trick play from the program havingthe right managed by the reservation management unit. Accordingly, itcan be prevented that, while the program which instructed contentreproduction is performing trick play, another program changes thereproduction status.

Furthermore, the present invention further includes a recordingreservation management unit which provides, to a program which hasinstructed the moving picture reproduction processing unit to reproducea moving picture, a right to give an instruction for trick play, and inthe case where the program instructs the moving picture reproductionprocessing unit to stop the reproduction of the moving picture, todeprive the right to give an instruction for trick play, wherein themoving picture trick play management unit accepts only an instructionfor one of normal reproduction and trick play from a program in aservice included in the program having the right managed by thereservation management unit. Accordingly, it can be prevented that,while the program which instructed content reproduction is performingtrick play, another program changes the reproduction status.

Furthermore, the present invention further includes a moving pictureselection unit which accepts an instruction for selection of a movingpicture to be reproduced, to provide, to a program which has identifiedthe moving picture to be reproduced, a right to give an instruction fortrick play, and in the case where the program instructs to cancel theselection of the moving picture, to deprive the right to give aninstruction for trick play, wherein the moving picture trick playmanagement unit accepts only an instruction for one of normalreproduction and trick play from the program having the right managed bythe moving picture selection unit. Accordingly, it can be preventedthat, while the program which instructed selection of content to bereproduced is performing trick play, another program changes thereproduction status.

Furthermore, the present invention further includes a moving pictureselection unit which accepts an instruction for selection of a movingpicture to be reproduced, to provide, to a program which has identifiedthe moving picture to be reproduced, a right to give an instruction fortrick play, and in the case where the program instructs to cancel theselection of the moving picture, to deprive the right to give aninstruction for trick play, wherein the moving picture trick playmanagement unit accepts only an instruction for one of normalreproduction and trick play from a program in a service included in theprogram having the right managed by the moving picture selection unit.Accordingly, it can be prevented that, while the program whichinstructed content reproduction is performing trick play, anotherprogram changes the reproduction status.

It should be noted that the present invention can be realized as suchmoving picture reproduction apparatus, but also as a program executionmethod having, as steps, characteristic units included in the movingpicture reproduction apparatus, or as a program for causing a computerto execute such steps. In addition, it is obvious that such program canbe distributed via a recording medium such as CD-ROM and a transmissionmedium such as the Internet.

The moving picture reproduction apparatus according to the presentinvention can prevent the reproduction speed to be changed unless normalreproduction or trick play is received so that it can prevent anoccurrence of situation in which an optimum trick play result cannot beobtained. Therefore, the present invention can prevent causingunexpected operations and malfunctions, increase usability of viewers,and reduce an occurrence of situation which a program generator has toexpect, so that a program can be easily generated.

Hereinafter, the embodiments of the present invention shall be describedwith reference to the diagrams.

First Embodiment

The embodiment of the cable television system according to the presentinvention shall be explained with reference to the diagrams. FIG. 1 is ablock diagram showing the relationship among apparatuses composing thecable system, which are a head end 101, and three terminal apparatusesthat are recording and reproduction apparatuses: a terminal apparatusA111, a terminal apparatus B112, and a terminal apparatus C113. In thepresent embodiment, three terminal apparatuses are connected to one headend, but the present invention can be carried out even with an arbitrarynumber of terminal apparatuses being connected to the head end.

The head end 101 transmits, to plural terminal apparatuses, broadcastsignals such as video, audio and data, and receives data transmittedfrom the terminal apparatuses. In order to implement this, frequencybands are divided for use in data transmission between the head end 101,and the terminal apparatus A111, the terminal apparatus B112, and theterminal apparatus C113. FIG. 2 is a table indicating one example of thedivision of the frequency bands. The frequency bands are roughly dividedinto two types: Out Of Band (abbr. OOB) and In-Band. A frequency band of5 to 130 MHz is allocated to OOB to be mainly used for data exchangebetween the head end 101, and the terminal apparatus A111, the terminalapparatus B112, and the terminal apparatus C113. A frequency band of 130MHz to 864 MHz is allocated to In-Band, and is mainly used in abroadcast channel including video and audio.

QPSK modulation type is used with OOB, whereas QAM64 modulation type isused with In-Band. Modulation type technology is generally known and oflittle concern to the present invention, and detailed descriptions aretherefore omitted.

FIG. 3 is one example of a more detailed use of the OOB frequency band.A frequency band of 70 MHz to 74 MHz is used to transmit data from thehead end 101. In this case, all of the terminal apparatus A111, theterminal apparatus B112, and the terminal apparatus C113 receive thesame data from the head end 101. Meanwhile, a frequency band of 10.0 MHzto 10.1 MHz is used to transmit data from the terminal apparatus A111 tothe head end 101. A frequency band of 10.1 MHz to 10.2 MHz is used totransmit data from the terminal apparatus B112 to the head end 101. Afrequency band of 10.2 MHz to 10.3 MHz is used to transmit data from theterminal apparatus C113 to the head end 101. Accordingly, data which isunique to each terminal apparatus can be transmitted to the head end 101from the terminal apparatus A111, the terminal apparatus B112, and theterminal apparatus C113.

FIG. 4 is one example of use of an In-Band frequency band. The frequencybands of 150 MHz to 156 MHz and 156 MHz to 162 MHz are assigned to achannel 1 and a channel 2 respectively, and thereafter, channels areassigned at 6 MHz intervals. 310 MHz and the subsequent frequencies areallocated to radio channels at 1 MHz intervals. Each of these channelsmay be used as analog broadcast or as digital broadcast. In the case ofdigital broadcasting, data is carried in a transport packet format underMPEG-2 specifications, and it is also possible to send data for eachkind of data broadcast, in addition to audio and video data.

The head end 101 has a QPSK modulation unit, a QAM modulation unit, andthe like in order to transmit suitable broadcast signals to therespective frequency bands. In addition, the head end 101 has a QPSKdemodulation unit for receiving data from the terminal apparatuses.Also, the head end 101 is assumed to further have various devicesrelated to the above modulation units and demodulation unit. However,the present invention relates mainly to the terminal apparatuses, andtherefore detailed descriptions are omitted.

The terminal apparatus A111, the terminal apparatus B112, and theterminal apparatus C113 receive and reproduce broadcast signalstransmitted from the head end 101. Furthermore, the terminal apparatusA111, the terminal apparatus B112, and the terminal apparatus C113transmit data unique to each terminal apparatus to the head end 101. Inthe present embodiment, these three terminal apparatuses shall have thesame configuration.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of abroadcast receiving apparatus having a function of recording contents tobe broadcast and a function of reproducing the recorded contents. 500 isa terminal apparatus, which is made up of a QAM demodulation unit 501, aQPSK demodulation unit 502, a QPSK modulation unit 503, a TS decoder505, an audio decoder 506, a speaker 507, a video decoder 508, a display509, a secondary storage unit 510, a primary storage unit 511, a ROM512, an input unit 513, a CPU 514, an audio encoder 520, a video encoder521, and a multiplexer 522. Furthermore, a POD 504 can be attachedto/detached from the terminal apparatus 500.

FIG. 6 shows a thin-profile television, which is an example of anexternal view of the terminal apparatus 500.

601 is a housing of the thin-profile television, which contains allconstituent elements of the terminal apparatus 500 except for the POD504.

602 is a display which corresponds to the display 509 in FIG. 5.

603 is a front panel unit which is made up of plural buttons and whichcorresponds to the input unit 513 in FIG. 5.

604 is a signal input terminal to which a cable line is connected fortransmitting and receiving signals to and from the head end 101. Thesignal input terminal is connected to the QAM demodulation unit 501, theQPSK demodulation unit 502, and the QPSK modulation unit 503 shown inFIG. 5.

605 is a POD card corresponding to the POD 504 in FIG. 5. The POD 504 isembodied independently of the terminal apparatus 500 and can be attachedto/detached from the terminal apparatus 500, as in the case of the PODcard 605 in FIG. 6. A detailed explanation of the POD 504 is givenlater.

606 is an insertion slot into which the POD card 605 is inserted.

Referring to FIG. 5, the QAM demodulation unit 501 demodulates a signalwhich has been QAM-modulated in and transmitted from the head end 101,according to tuning information that includes a frequency specified bythe CPU 514, and passes the resultant to the POD 504.

The QPSK demodulation unit 502 demodulates a signal which has beenQPSK-modulated in and transmitted from the head end 101, according totuning information that includes a frequency specified by the CPU 514,and passes the resultant to the POD 504.

The QPSK modulation unit 503 QPSK-modulates a signal passed from the POD504, according to modulation information that includes a frequencyspecified by the CPU 514, and transmits the resultant to the head end101.

The POD 504, as 605 in FIG. 6, is attachable to/detachable from the mainbody of the terminal apparatus 500, The definition of the connectioninterface between the main body of the terminal 500 and the POD 504 isgiven in OpenCable (TM) HOST-POD Interface Specification(OC-SP-HOSTPOD-IF-I12-030210) and in specifications referred to by suchspecification. POD is commonly called as CableCARD. The POD 504 mainlyperforms decoding processing (generally referred to as conditionalaccess or as CA) on the coded signal transmitted from the head end 101and intermediate processing for two-way communications between the headend 101 and the terminal apparatus 500. In the decoding of the codedsignal transmitted from the head end 101, the POD 504 receives thesignal from the QAM demodulation unit 501 and decodes the receivedsignal in the case where the received signal has been coded. The POD 504then transmits the decoded signal to the TS decoder 505 of the terminalapparatus 500.

Whereas any decoding methods are applicable, the method to be used isgenerally kept unknown so that there is a common case where even amanufacturer of the terminal apparatus 500 does not know the methodused. Furthermore, in the intermediate processing for the two-waycommunications between the head end 101 and the terminal apparatus 500,the terminal main body 500 performs processing for indirectly allowingthe two-way communications with the head end 101, using a functiondefined as a connection interface of the POD 504. The method of allowingthe two-way communications between the POD 504 and the head end 101 isdetermined as a method defined in the specification and a method definedby a unique agreement between respective manufacturers of the POD 504and the head end 101 (there is a case where the respective manufacturersare the same). However, since it is less related to the presentinvention, the detailed explanation is omitted.

The TS decoder 505 performs filtering on the signal received from thePOD 504, and outputs necessary data to the output destination specifiedby the CPU 514. The output destination is selected from the audiodecoder 506, the video decoder 508, and the CPU 514. Here, the signalsent from the POD 504 is an MPEG-2 transport stream. A detaileddescription about an MPEG-2 transport stream is given in the MPEGspecification ISO/IEC13818-1, and therefore detailed explanation shallbe omitted in the present embodiment. An MPEG-2 transport stream iscomposed of plural fixed-length packets, and a packet ID is assigned toeach packet.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the structure of a packet. 800 is a packetmade up of 188 bytes having fixed length. The top four bytes is a header801 storing information for identifying the packet, and the remaining184 bytes is a payload 802 which contains the information to betransmitted. 803 shows the breakdown of the header 801. A packet ID isincluded in the 13 bits of the twelfth to twenty-fourth bits from thetop.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating plural packet strings to betransmitted. A packet 901 carries a packet ID “1” in its header andincludes the first information of video A in its payload. A packet 902carries a packet ID “2” in its header and includes the first informationof audio A in its payload. A packet 903 carries a packet ID “3” in itsheader and includes the first information of audio B in its payload. Apacket 904 carries the packet ID “1” in its header and includes thesecond information of the video A in its payload, and is thecontinuation of the packet 901. Similarly, packets 905, 926, and 927carry subsequent data of the other packets. By concatenating thecontents of the payloads of packets with the same packet IDs in theabove manner, it is possible to reproduce a continuing video and audio.

Referring to FIG. 5, when the CPU 514 indicates, to the TS decoder 505,the packet ID “1” as well as “the video decoder 508” as an outputdestination, the TS decoder 505 extracts packets with the packet ID “1”from the MPEG-2 transport stream received from the POD 504, and passesthem to the video decoder 508. In FIG. 5, therefore, only the video datais passed over to the video decoder 508. At the same time, when the CPU514 indicates, to the TS decoder 50S, the packet ID “2” as well as “theaudio decoder 506”, the TS decoder 505 extracts packets with the packetID “2” from the MPEG-2 transport stream received from the POD 504, andpasses them to the audio decoder 506. In FIG. 5, therefore, only theaudio data is passed over to the audio decoder 506 and the CPU 514.

This process of extracting only necessary packets according to thepacket IDs corresponds to the filtering performed by the TS decoder 505.The TS decoder 505 is capable of performing more than one filteringprocessing simultaneously, at the instruction of the CPU 514.

Referring to FIG. 5, the audio decoder 506 concatenates audio dataembedded in the packets in the MPEG-2 transport stream provided by theTS decoder 505, and outputs the resultant to the predetermined outputdestination or the output destination indicated by the CPU 154. Forexample, the audio data is an MPEG audio which is coded based on theMPEG audio specification ISO/IEC13818-3. The audio decoder is mounted asan MPEG audio decoder, and outputs a normal audio signal. The CPU 154designates, as the output destination, the speaker 507 or the audioencoder 506.

The speaker 507 outputs, in audio, the signal provided by the audiodecoder 506.

The video decoder 508 concatenates video data embedded in the packets inthe MPEG-2 transport stream provided by the TS decoder 505, performsdigital-to-analog conversion on the concatenated data, and outputs theresultant to a predetermined output destination or the outputdestination indicated by the CPU 154. For example, the video data is anMPEG video coded based on the MPEG video specification ISO/IEC13818-2,and the video decoder is mounted as an MPEG video decoder and outputs anordinary video signal. The CPU 154 designates, as an output destination,the display 509 or the video encoder 2102.

The display 509, to be more specific, configured of a CRT or a liquidcrystal and the like, outputs (displays) a video signal provided by thevideo decoder 508 and displays a message specified by the CPU 514, andso forth.

The secondary storage unit 510, to be more specific, configured of oneor more flash memories or a hard disk and the like, stores and deletesdata and programs specified by the CPU 514 or an MPEG transport stream.Furthermore, the stored data and programs are outputted to the CPU 514and the TS decoder 505.

The stored data and programs are kept in storage even when power to theterminal apparatus 500 is cut off.

The primary storage unit 511, to be more specific, configured of aRandom Access Memory (RAM) and the like, temporarily stores and deletesdata and programs specified by the CPU 514. Furthermore, the stored dataand programs are referred to by the CPU 514. The stored data andprograms are deleted when power to the terminal apparatus 500 is cutoff.

The ROM 512 is a read-only memory device, to be more specific,configured of a Read Only Memory (ROM), a CD-ROM, or a DVD, and thelike. The ROM 512 stores a program to be executed by the CPU 514.

The input unit 513, to be more specific, configured of a front panel ora remote control, accepts an input from the user. FIG. 7 is one exampleof a case where the input unit 513 is configured of the front panel. 700is a front panel, which corresponds to the front panel unit 603 shown inFIG. 6. The front panel 700 has an up cursor button 701, a down cursorbutton 702, a left cursor button 703, a right cursor button 704, an OKbutton 705, a cancel button 706, an EPG button 707, and a REC button708. When the user presses down a button, the identifier of such pressedbutton is notified to the CPU 514.

Referring to FIG. 5, the CPU 514 executes the program stored in the ROM512. Following the instructions from such program to be executed, theCPU 514 controls the QAM demodulation unit 501, the QPSK demodulationunit 502, the QPSK modulation unit 503, the POD 504, the TS decoder 505,the display 509, the secondary storage unit 510, the primary storageunit 511, the ROM 512, the audio encoder 520, the video encoder 521, andthe multiplexer 522,

The audio encoder 520 receives an output from the audio decoder 506,encodes the received output into a predetermined format or a formatspecified by the CPU 514, and outputs the resultant to a predeterminedoutput destination or an output destination specified by the CPU 154.For example, the audio data is an MPEG audio coded in compliance withthe MPEG audio specification ISO/IEC13818-3. The audio encoder 520 ismounted as an MPEG audio encoder, and outputs a normal audio signal asan MPEG audio data,

The video encoder 521 receives an output from the video decoder 508,encodes the received output into a predetermined format or a formatspecified by the CPU 514, and outputs the resultant to a predeterminedoutput destination or an output destination specified by the CPU 154.For example, the video data is an MPEG video coded in compliance withthe NPEG video specification ISO/IEC13818-2. The video encoder 521 ismounted as an MPEG video encoder, and outputs a normal video signal asan MPEG video data.

The multiplexer 522 multiplexes the received video and audio data, andoutputs the resultant to the predetermined output destination or theoutput destination specified by the CPU 154. The known technology can beused for a specific multiplexing method and the details shall bereferred to the MPEG specifications. For example, the multiplexing is anMPEG transport stream that is multiplexed in compliance with the MPEGsystem specification ISO/IEC13818-1. The multiplexer 522 is mounted asan MPEG transport stream multiplexer, multiplexes the MPEG audio dataand the MPEG video data into the MPEG transport stream format, andoutputs the resultant.

The output destination of each of the aforementioned constituentelements is specified by the CPU 514 based on an expected operationalresult. Specifically, it is specified by a program group that is storedin an after-mentioned ROM 512 and is executed by the CPU 514.

For example, in the case where a content being broadcast is reproduced,the CPU 514 indicates, to each constituent element, an outputdestination so as to have a data flow as described below. First, theoutput from the QAM demodulation unit 501 is inputted to the POD 504,and the output of the POD 504 is inputted to the TS decoder 505. Afterthat, the audio packet output from the TS decoder 505 is inputted to theaudio decoder 506, the audio output from the audio decoder 506 isinputted to the speaker 507, and the audio is reproduced from thespeaker 507. On the other hand, the video packet output from the TSdecoder 505 is inputted to the video decoder 508, the video output fromthe video decoder 508 is inputted to the video display 509, and thevideo is displayed on the display 509. Through the aforementionedoperations, the content being broadcast is reproduced from the speakerand on the display.

For example, in the case where the content being broadcast is recorded,the CPU 514 indicates, to each constituent, an output destination so asto have a data flow as described below. First, the output from the QAMdemodulation unit 501 is inputted to the POD 504, and the output of thePOD 504 is inputted to the TS decoder 505. After that, the audio packetoutput from the TS decoder 505 is inputted to the audio decoder 506, theaudio output from the audio decoder 506 is inputted to the audio encoder520, and the audio data output from the audio encoder 520 is inputted tothe multiplexer 522. On the other hand, the video packet output from theTS decoder 505 is inputted to the video decoder 508, the video outputfrom the video decoder 508 is inputted to the video encoder 521, and thevideo data output from the video encoder 521 is inputted to themultiplexer 522. The multiplexer 522 multiplexes the input audio dataand video data into the MPEG transport stream format, and outputs theresultant to the secondary storage unit. Through the aforementionedoperations, the broadcast content is recorded into the secondary storageunit.

For example, in the case where a content recorded in the secondarystorage unit is reproduced, the CPU 514 indicates, to each constituentelement, an output destination so as to have a data flow as describedbelow. First, the MPEG transport stream output from the secondarystorage unit is inputted to the TS decoder 505. After that, the audiopacket output from the TS decoder 505 is inputted to the audio decoder506, the audio output from the audio decoder 506 is inputted to thespeaker 507, and the audio is reproduced from the speaker 507. On theother hand, the video packet output from the TS decoder 505 is inputtedto the video decoder 508, the video output from the video decoder 508 isinputted to the display 509, and the video is displayed on the display509. Through the aforementioned operations, the content stored in thesecondary storage unit is reproduced.

In the above, the hardware configuration was explained.

Hereinafter, a software configuration shall be explained.

FIG. 10 is one example of a configuration diagram of the program that isstored in the ROM 512 and to be executed by the CPU 514.

A program 1000 is made up of plural subprograms. To be more specific,the program 1000 is made up of an OS 1001, an EPG 1002, a Java™ VM 1003,a service manager 1004, a Java™ library 1005, and a recording manager1010.

The OS 1001 stands for operating system, an example of which is Linuxand the like. The OS 1001 is a generic name for publicly knowntechnology made up of a kernel 1001 a and a library 1001 b for executingsubprograms in parallel, and therefore a detailed explanation isomitted. In the present embodiment, the kernel 1001 a of the OS 1001executes the EPG 1002 and the Java™ VM 1003 as subprograms. Meanwhile,the library 1001 b provides these subprograms with plural functionsrequired for controlling the constituent elements of the terminalapparatus 500.

Here, tuning is introduced as an example of such functions. In thetuning function, tuning information including a frequency is receivedfrom another subprogram and then passed over to the QAM demodulationunit 501. Accordingly, the QAM demodulation unit 501 can demodulate databased on the provided tuning information, and pass the demodulated datato the POD 504. As a result, the other subprograms can control the QAMdemodulation unit via the library 1001 b.

The EPG 1002 has a function of making a user select a content whiledisplaying, for the user, information relating to the content to bebroadcast or the recorded content. The EPG 1002 is made up of a programdisplay unit 1002 a for accepting an input from the user, and areproduction unit 1002 b for indicating an instruction for contentreproduction. Here, EPG stands for Electric Program Guide.

First, it is described about the procedure by which the EPG 1002displays the content to be broadcast and reproduces the content selectedby the user. The EPG 1002 is started by the kernel 1001 a when power tothe terminal apparatus 500 is turned on. Inside the started EPG 1002,the program display unit 1002 a awaits input from the user through theinput unit 513 of the terminal apparatus 500. Here, in the case wherethe input unit 513 is configured of the front panel shown in FIG. 7,when the user presses down the EPG button 707 on the input unit 513, theCPU 514 is notified of the identifier of such EPG button. The programdisplay unit 1002 a of the EPG 1002, which is a subprogram running onthe CPU 514, accepts this identifier and displays program information onthe display 509.

FIG. 11A and FIG. 11B show examples of a program table displayed on thedisplay 509. Referring to FIG. 11A, the program information is displayedon the display 509 in a grid pattern. Time information is displayed incolumn 1101. A channel name “Channel 1” and programs to be broadcastduring time periods corresponding to the respective times described inthe column 1101 are displayed in column 1102. The channel name is alsocalled channel identifier. It is shown that a program “News 9” isbroadcast from 9:00 to 10:30, and “Movie AAA” is broadcast from 10:30 to12:00 on “Channel 1”. In the same manner as column 1102, a channel name“Channel 2” and a program shown during a time period corresponding tothe time in the column 1101 are displayed in column 1103. It is shownthat a program “Movie BBB” is broadcast from 9:00 to 11:00, and “News11” is broadcast from 11:00 to 12:00.

1101 is a region on which the details displayed on the screen aredisplayed as a message to the user. Here, “program selection” isdisplayed for urging the user to select a program. 1130 is a cursor. Thecursor 1130 moves at the press of the left cursor 703 and the rightcursor 704 on the front panel 700. When the right cursor 704 is presseddown in the state illustrated in FIG. 11A, the cursor 1130 moves towardsthe right as shown in FIG. 11B. Meanwhile, when the left cursor 703 ispressed down in the state illustrated in FIG. 11B, the cursor 1130 movestowards the left as shown in FIG. 11A.

When the OK button 705 on the front panel 700 is pressed down in thestate shown in FIG. 11A, the program display unit 1002 a notifies thereproduction unit 1002 b of the identifier of “Channel 1”. When the OKbutton 705 on the front panel 700 is pressed down in the state shown inFIG. 11B, the program display unit 1002 a notifies the reproduction unit1002 b of the identifier of “Channel 2”.

Furthermore, the program display unit 1002 a periodically stores programinformation to be displayed from the head end 101 into the primarystorage unit 511 via the POD 504. Generally, it takes time to obtainprogram information from the head end. However, it becomes possible toquickly display a program table by displaying the program informationthat is pre-stored in the primary storage unit 511 at the press of theEPG button 707 of the input unit 513.

The reproduction unit 1002 b sends an instruction to reproduce thecontent to be broadcast using the received identifier of the channel, inthe case where the received information is the content to be broadcast.The relationship between channel identifiers and channels is pre-storedin the secondary storage unit 510 as channel information.

FIG. 12 is one example of the channel information stored in thesecondary storage unit 510. The channel information is stored in tabularformat. A column 1201 describes the identifiers of channels. A column1202 describes channel names. A column 1203 describes tuninginformation. Here, the tuning information is represented by values to beprovided to the QAM demodulation unit 501 such as frequency, transferrate, and coding ratio. A column 1204 describes program numbers. Programnumbers are numbers used to identify PMTs defined by the MPEG-2specification. A description about PMT is given later. Each of columns1211 to 1214 indicates a set of the identifier, channel name, and tuninginformation of each channel. The column 1211 describes a set thatincludes an identifier of “1”, a channel name of “Channel 1”, afrequency of “150 MHz” as tuning information, and a program number of“101”. The reproduction unit 1002 b passes the identifier of thereceived channel directly to the service manager 1004 in order toreproduce the content of the channel.

It should be noted that, as shown in here, a channel indicates afrequency band; channel information is information for using thefrequency band in which the channel exists; and the content to bebroadcast is a collective of video, audio and application included inthe channel.

Moreover, when the user presses down the up cursor 701 and the downcursor 702 on the front panel 700 while the content of a channel isbeing reproduced, the reproduction unit 1002 b receives a notificationabout such press by the user from the input unit 513 via the CPU 514,and switches the channel being reproduced to another one. First, thereproduction unit 1002 b stores, in the primary storage unit 511, theidentifier of the channel that is currently being reproduced.

FIGS. 13A, 13B and 13C show example identifiers of channels stored inthe primary storage unit 511. In FIG. 13A, a channel identifier “3” isstored, and referring to FIG. 12, it is indicated that the channel witha channel name of “TV 3” is being reproduced. When the user presses downthe up cursor 701 in a state illustrated in FIG. 13A, the reproductionunit 1002 b refers to the channel information shown in FIG. 12, andpasses the identifier “2” of a so channel with the channel name of“Channel 2” to the service manager 1004 in order to newly reproduce achannel with the channel name of “Channel 2”, which is the previouschannel in the table. At the same time, the reproduction unit 1002 brewrites the identifier to the channel identifier “2” stored in theprimary storage unit 511. FIG. 13B shows the state in which the channelidentifier has been re-written. Meanwhile, when the user presses downthe down cursor 702 in the state illustrated in FIG. 13A, thereproduction unit 1002 b refers to the channel information shown in FIG.12, and passes the identifier “4” of a channel with the channel name of“TV Japan” to the service manager 1004 in order to newly reproduce achannel with the channel name of “TV Japan”, which is the next channelin the table. At the same time, the reproduction unit 1002 b rewritesthe identifier to the channel identifier “4” stored in the primarystorage unit 511. FIG. 13C shows the state in which the channelidentifier has been re-written.

Next, it is described about the procedure by which the EPG 1002 displaysthe content to be broadcast, and performs a recording reservation of thecontent selected by the user. Here, in the case where the input unit 513is configured of the front panel shown in FIG. 7, when the user pressesdown the REC button 708 on the input unit 513, the CPU 514 is notifiedof the identifier of such REC button. The program display unit 1002 a ofthe EPG 1002, which is a subprogram running on the CPU 514, accepts thisidentifier and displays program information on the display 509. Theprogram display unit 1002 a displays a screen for performing a recordingreservation of the content to be broadcast, in contrast to the casewhere the identifier of the EPG button 707 is received.

FIG. 14 is an example of the screen for performing a recordingreservation displayed on the display 509. Same reference numbers areused for the constituent elements same as in FIG. 11 and theexplanations about the same elements are therefore omitted. The cursor1130 moves on the screen in accordance with the input by the user. Forexample, when the user presses down the OK button 705 on the front panel700 where the cursor 1130 is placed at the position of “Movie 888” of“Channel 2”, the program display unit 1002 a notifies the recordingmanager 1010 of the information relating to “Movie 888”.

Referring to FIG. 10, the recording manager 1010 manages recordingreservation, instructs to record a content in accordance with therecording reservation, and manages the recorded content. First, it isdescribed about the management of recording reservation. For example,when receiving information relating to the recording reservation fromthe program display unit 1002 a of the EPG 1002, the recording manager1010 stores the received information into the primary storage unit 511.FIG. 15 shows an example of details stored in the primary storage unit511. A column 1501 describes a reservation identifier for identifyingeach recording reservation. A column 1502 describes a channel nameincluded in the recording reservation. A column 1503 describes a starttime of recording. A column 1504 describes an end time of recording. Acolumn 1505 describes additional information attached to the recordingreservation.

A column 1506 describes information indicating whether or not therecording has been finished (recording state). For example, “1”indicates that the recording has been finished, and “0” indicates thatthe recording has not been finished. A row 1511 and a row 1512respectively indicate a recording reservation. Here, the row 1511describes a recording reservation having a reservation identifier 1501of “1” a channel name 1502 of “Channel 2”, a start time 1503 of “09:00”an end time 1504 of “11:00”, the additional information 1505 of “MovieBBB”, and a recording state 1506 of “0”. Furthermore, the row 1512describes a recording reservation having a reservation identifier 1501of “2”, a channel name 1502 of “Channel 1”, a start time 1503 of“20:00”, an end time 1504 of “21:00”, the additional information 1505 of“Drama C”, and a recording state 1506 of “1”.

In addition, the recording manager 1010 instructs, based on theinformation included in the recording reservation, to start recording,onto the secondary storage unit 510, a content of the channelcorresponding to the current channel name, in other words, additionaldata such as video, audio and application when it is a start time of oneof the stored recording reservations, and instructs to terminaterecording when it is an end time of the recording reservation. Thechannel identifier corresponding to the channel name is found withreference to FIG. 12. When the recording is completed, the recordingstate 1506 is changed from “0” to “1”. It should be noted thatinformation relating to the recorded content, a format in which theinformation is stored in the primary storage unit 511 and the like areshown in FIG. 23. Whenever new content is recorded, one line of an entryis added to the format shown in FIG. 23.

In FIG. 23, 2311 and 2312 are respective entries relating to therecorded contents that are different from each other. The recorded dataidentifier 2301 is an ID for uniquely identifying the recorded content.The recording manager 1010 assigns a unique value to each content. Thechannel name 2302 is a channel name of each content and is equivalent tothe channel name 1502 in FIG. 15. The storage information 2303 is a filepath name in which each of the recorded contents is stored.

Next, it is described about the procedure by which the EPG 1002 displaysthe recorded content, and reproduces the content selected by the user.The program display unit 1002 a receives information relating to therecorded content from the recording manager 1010, and presents thereceived information to the user.

FIG. 16 is an example of a recorded content selection screen displayedon the display 509. Same reference numbers are used for the constituentelements same as in FIG. 11 and the explanation about the same elementsis therefore omitted. A column 1601 describes program names of therecorded contents. A column 1602 describes channel names by which therecorded contents had been broadcast. A column 1603 describes length(time) of the recorded contents. When the user moves the cursor 1130using the input unit 513 and selects one of the recorded contents, theprogram display unit 1002 a notifies the reproduction unit 1002 b of theinformation relating to the selected content. The reproduction unit 1002b instructs the service manager 1004 to reproduce the content based onthe received information, in the case where the received information isthe recorded content.

The information to be passed over is, for example, the details shown inthe column 1511 of FIG. 15. Furthermore, a place where the content isrecorded (for example, a file name) and the like may be included asinformation relating to the recorded content. Or, only the reservationidentifier 1501 in FIG. 15 is passed over, and the service manager 1004may obtain, from the recording manager 1010, information necessary forreproduction based on the reservation identifier 1501.

Referring to FIG. 10, the Java™ VM 1003 is a Java™ virtual machine whichsequentially analyzes and executes programs written in the Java™language. Programs written in the Java™ language are compiled ofintermediate code which does not depend on hardware, called bytecode.The Java™ virtual machine is an interpreter which executes thisbytecode. Some of the Java™ virtual machines translate the byte codesinto an executable form which can be interpreted by the CPU 514 and passthe resultant to the CPU 514, which executes it. The Java™ VM 1003 isstarted, with a Java™ program to be executed being specified by thekernel 1001 a.

In the present embodiment, the kernel 1001 a specifies the servicemanager 1004 as a Java™ program to be executed. Details of the Java™language are explained in many publications, such as “Java™ LanguageSpecification (ISBN 0-201-63451-1)”. Here, those details are omitted. Inaddition, detailed operations of the Java™ VM itself are explained inmany publications, such as “Java™ Virtual Machine Specification (ISBN0-201-63451-X)”. Here, those details are omitted.

The service manager 1004, which is a Java™ program written in the Java™language, is sequentially executed by the Java™ VM 1003. The servicemanager 1004 can call or to be called by another subprogram which is notwritten in the Java™ language through Java™ Native Interface (JNI). JNIis also described in many publications, such as “Java™ NativeInterface”. Here, those details are omitted.

The service manager 1004 receives information relating to the content tobe reproduced such as the identifier of a channel from the reproductionunit 1002 b through the JNI. The service manager 1004 also provides aJava API for another Java program to identify a channel identifier to bereproduced for the service manager. Specifically, it provides a Javamethod called select (int channel). That is, another Java program canspecify a content to be reproduced by identifying, to the channelparameter, an identifier of the channel and calling this method.

As described in the above, the content to be reproduced is indicated tothe service manager through JNI or select method of the Java method. Inthe case where the content to be reproduced is the content to bebroadcast, the service manager 1004 first passes the identifier of thechannel to a Tuner 1005 c in the Java™ library 1005 so as to request fortuning. The Tuner 1005 c obtains the turning information with referenceto the channel information stored in the secondary storage unit 510.Assuming that the service manager 1004 passes the identifier “2” of thechannel to the Tuner 1005 c, the Tuner 1005 c obtains the tuninginformation “156 MHz” corresponding to the channel with reference to therow 1212 shown in FIG. 12. The Tuner 1005 c passes the tuninginformation to the QAM demodulation unit 501 via the library 1001 b ofthe OS 1001. The QAM demodulation unit 501 demodulates the signal sentfrom the head end 101 according to the tuning information given to theQAM demodulation unit 501, and passes the resultant signal to the POD504.

Next, the service manager 1004 requests a CA 1005 d inside the Java™library 1005 to perform descrambling. The CA 1005 d provides the POD 504with information required for descrambling through the library 1001 b inthe OS 1001. On the basis of such provided information, the POD 504descrambles the signal provided by the QAM demodulation unit 501, andpasses the resultant signal to the TS decoder 505. It should be notedthat the CA 1005 d does not necessarily perform processing relating todescrambling in the case where it is determined that descrambling isunnecessary to be performed (in other words, scrambling has not beenperformed).

Next, the service manager 1004 provides a JMF 1005 a inside the Java™library 1005 with the identifier of the channel, so as to request forthe reproduction of the video and audio.

First, the JMF 1005 a obtains, from a PAT and a PMT, packet IDs foridentifying the video and audio to be reproduced. PAT and PMT are tablesdefined by the MPEG-2 specification that show the program line-upincluded in an MPEG-2 transport stream. PAT and PMT are carried in thepayloads in packets included in an MPEG-2 transport stream, togetherwith audio and video. Refer to the specification for a detaileddescription of PAT and PMT. Here, only an overview of PAT and PMT isgiven. PAT stands for Program Association Table, and, is carried inpackets with the packet ID “0”. In order to obtain PAT, the JMF 1005 aindicates, to the TS decoder 505, the packet ID “0” and the CPU 514through the library 1001 b of the OS 1001. The TS decoder 505 thenperforms filtering based on the packet ID “0”, and passes the resultantto the CPU 514. Accordingly, the JMF 1005 a can collect the PAT packets.

FIG. 17 illustrates a table that schematically shows an example of thecollected PAT information. A column 1701 describes program numbers. Acolumn 1702 describes packet IDs. The packet IDs shown in the column1702 are used to obtain the PMT. Each of rows 1711 to 1713 is a pair ofthe program number of a channel and a packet ID corresponding to it.Here, three channels are defined. The row 1711 defines a pair of theprogram number “101” and the packet ID “501”. Assuming that the channelidentifier provided to the JMF 1005 a is “2”, the JMF 1005 a obtains theprogram number “102” corresponding to such channel identifier withreference to the row 1212 in FIG. 12, and then obtains the packet ID“502” corresponding to the program number “102” with reference to therow 1712 in the PAT shown in FIG. 17. PMT, which stands for Program MapTable, is carried in packets with the packet IDs specified in the PAT.In order to obtain PMT, the JMF 1005 a indicates, to the TS decoder 505,a packet ID and the CPU 514 through the library 1001 b of the OS 1001.Here, a packet ID to be specified is “502”. The TS decoder 505 thenperforms filtering based on the packet ID “502”, and passes theresultant to the CPU 514. Accordingly, the JMF 1005 a can collect thePMT packets.

FIG. 18 illustrates a table that schematically shows an example of thecollected PMT information. A column 1801 describes stream types. Acolumn 1802 describes packet IDs. Information specified by therespective stream types is carried in the payloads of packets with thepacket IDs specified in the column 1802. A column 1803 describesadditional information. Each of rows 1811 to 1814 is a pair of a packetID and the type of information being transmitted, which is known as anelementary stream. The row 1811, which is a pair of the stream type“audio” and the packet ID “5011” indicates that audio data is stored inthe payload of the packet with the packet ID “5011”. The JMF 1005 aobtains, from the PMT, the packet IDs of the video and audio to bereproduced. Referring to FIG. 18, the JMF 1005 a obtains the audiopacket ID “5011” from the row 1811, and the video packet ID “5012” fromthe row 1812.

The JMF 1005 a then provides the TS decoder 505 with pairs of theobtained audio packet ID and the audio decoder 506 as an outputdestination as well as the video packet ID and the video decoder 508 asan output destination, via the library 1001 b of the OS 1001. The TSdecoder 505 performs filtering based on such provided packet IDs and theoutput destinations. Here, the packet with the packet ID “5011” ispassed over to the audio decoder 506 and the packet with the packet ID“5012” is passed over to the video decoder 508. The audio decoder 506performs digital-to-analog conversion on the provided packet, so as toreproduce the audio via the speaker 507. The video decoder 508 performsdigital-to-analog conversion on the provided packet, so as to displaythe video on the display 509.

Finally, the service manager 1004 provides the channel identifier to anAM 1005 b in the Java™ library 1005, so as to request for data broadcastreproduction. Here, data broadcast reproduction indicates to extract aJava™ program included in the MPEG-2 transport stream, that is anapplication, and cause the Java™ VM 1003 to execute it. A format calledDSMCC, which is noted in the MPEG specifications ISO/IEC 13818-6, isused as the method of embedding the Java™ program into the MPEG-2transport stream. Here, detailed descriptions of DSMCC are omitted.

DSMCC specification defines a method of encoding a file system comprisedof directories and files used by a computer, in packets within an MPEG-2transport stream. Furthermore, information of the Java™ program to beexecuted is carried in packets in the MPEG-2 transport stream in theform of AIT. Here, AIT stands for Application Information Table definedin OCAP 1.0 specification.

First, in order to obtain the AIT, the AM 1005 b obtains the PAT and PMTas in the case of the JMF 1005 a, so as to obtain the packet ID of thepacket which stores the AIT. Assuming that “2” is the provided channelidentifier and that the PAT shown in FIG. 17 and the PMT shown in FIG.18 are being transmitted, the AM 1005 b obtains the PMT shown in FIG. 18according to the same procedure by the JMF 1005 a. The AM 1005 bextracts, from the PMT, the packet ID of the elementary stream whosestream type is “Data” and which has “AIT” as additional information. Asshown in FIG. 18, the elementary stream in the row 1813 corresponds tosuch elementary stream, and therefore the AM 1005 b obtains the packetID “5013” from it.

The AM 1005 b provides the TS decoder 505 with the packet ID of the AITand the CPU 514 as an output destination through the library 1001 b ofthe OS 1001. The TS decoder 505 then performs filtering based on suchprovided packet ID, and passes the resultant to the CPU 514.Accordingly, the AM 1005 b can collect the packets of AIT. FIG. 19 is atable that schematically shows an example of the collected AITinformation. A column 1901 describes identifiers of Java™ programs. Acolumn 1902 describes control information for controlling the Java™programs. The control information includes “autostart”, “present” and“kill”. “autostart” means that the terminal apparatus 500 automaticallyexecutes the program promptly. “present” means that the program is notexecuted automatically. “kill” means that the program is to beterminated.

A column 1903 describes DSMCC identifiers used for extracting packet IDsthat include Java™ programs in the DSMCC format. A column 1904 describesprogram names of the Java™ programs. A column 1905 describes priorities.Priorities can be used for deciding orders among plural applications ina process. Each of rows 1911 and 1912 is a set of information of a Java™program. The Java™ program defined in the row 1911 is a set of anidentifier “301”, control information “autostart”, a DSMCC identifier“1”, a program name “a/TopXlet”, and a priority level “100”. The Java™program defined in the row 1912 is a set of an identifier “302”, controlinformation “present”, a DSMCC identifier “1”, a program name“b/GameXlet”, and a priority level “50”. Here, these two Java™ programshave the same DSMCC identifier, to which indicates that two Java™programs are included in the file system which has been encodedaccording to the same DSMCC method. Here, only four items of informationare specified for the respective Java™ programs, but more items ofinformation are specified in actuality. The OCAP 1.0 specification shallbe referred for the details.

The AM 1005 b finds the “autostart” Java™ program from the AIT, andextracts the corresponding DSMCC identifier and Java™ program name.Referring to FIG. 19, the AM 1005 b extracts the Java™ program in therow 1911, and obtains the DSMCC identifier “1” and the Java™ programname “a/TopXlet”.

Next, the AM 1005 b obtains, from the PMT, the packet ID of packets thatstore Java™ programs in the DSMCC format, using the DSMCC identifierobtained from the AIT. More specifically, the AM 1005 b obtains, fromthe PMT, the packet ID included in the elementary stream having a streamtype of “Data” and having a matching DSMCC identifier in the additionalinformation.

Here, assuming that such DSMCC identifier is “1” and the PMT is the oneshown in FIG. 18, the elementary stream in the row 1814 satisfies theabove condition. Therefore, the packet ID “5014” is to be extracted.

The AM 1005 b indicates, to the TS decoder 505, the packet ID of packetsin which data is embedded in the DSMCC format as well as the CPU 514 asan output destination through the library 1001 b of the OS 1001. Here,the packet ID “5014” is provided. The TS decoder 505 then performsfiltering based on such provided packet ID, and passes the resultant tothe CPU 514. Accordingly, the AM 1005 b can collect the requiredpackets. The AM 1005 b reconstructs the file system from the collectedpackets according to the DSMCC method, and stores the reconstructed filesystem into the primary storage unit 511. The process of extracting datasuch as the file system from packets in the MPEG-2 transport stream andstoring the extracted data into storage units such as the primarystorage unit 511 is hereinafter called download.

FIG. 20 is one example of a downloaded file system. In the diagram, acircle represents a directory and a square represents a file; 2001 is aroot directory; 2002 is a directory “a”; 2003 is a directory “b”; 2004is a file “TopXlet.class”; and 2005 is a file “GameXlet.class”.

Subsequently, the AM 1005 b passes, to the Java™ VM 1003, a Java™program to be executed out of the file system downloaded into theprimary storage unit 511. Assuming that the name of the Java™ program tobe executed is “a/TopXlet”, the file “a/TopXlet.class”, in which”.class” is added to the end of the Java™ program name, is the file tobe executed. “/” is a directory and file name division, and referring toFIG. 20, the file 2004 is the Java™ program which should be executed.Next, the AM 1005 b passes the file 2004 to the Java™ VM 1003.

The Java™ VM 1003 executes such received Java™ program.

Upon receiving a different channel identifier, the service manager 1004terminates, through each library included in the Java™ library 1005, thevideo/audio being reproduced through the same respective librariesincluded in the Java™ library 1005 and the executed Java™ program, andthen, based on the newly-accepted channel identifier, carries outvideo/audio reproduction and Java™ program execution.

It should be noted that the application executed by the AM 1005 b basedon the aforementioned AIT is a type of Java program so that the contentto be reproduced can be designated by calling select (int channel)method provided by the service manager 1004.

In the OCAP 1.0 specification, instead of the program that is previouslyprepared in the terminal such as the EPG 1002, it is defined a procedureof downloading an application from outside the terminal apparatus andexecuting it. Hereinafter, such application is referred to as a monitorapplication.

FIG. 21 illustrates a table that schematically shows an example ofspecial program information (hereinafter referred to as XAIT) sent fromthe head end 101. The structure of XAIT is similar to that of the AITshown in FIG. 19 so that same reference numbers are attached to the sameconstituent elements and the redundant explanations are omitted. Acolumn 2105 describes abstract service identifiers, each of whichindicates an abstract service to which a monitor application belongs.Here, the abstract service is a concept indicating a set ofapplications. Its feature is different from the content to be broadcastin that it does not relate to video and audio but only relates toapplications. In other words, the service manager 1004 does not performprocessing relating to video and audio (specifically, the process ofcalling CA 1005 d and JMF 1005 a). A column 2106 describes abstractservice automatic selection identifiers. According to such identifier,it is determined whether or not a current abstract service is to beselected. For example, an abstract service is automatically selectedwhen the abstract service automatic selection identifier 2106 is 1, andthe monitor application belonging to the abstract service is started asthe result. An abstract service is not automatically selected exceptwhen the abstract service automatic selection identifier 2106 is 1.Therefore, the monitor application belonging to the abstract service isnot started unless the abstract service is selected using some means.

A row 2111 and a row 2112 respectively describe a set of informationrelating to a monitor application. The monitor application defined bythe row 2111 is a set of a Java program identifier “401”, controlinformation “autostart”, a DSMCC identifier “1”, a program name “a/MA1”,a priority level “255”, an abstract service identifier “100”, and anabstract service automatic selection identifier “1”. The monitorapplication defined by the row 2112 is a set of an identifier “402”,control information “present”, a DSMCC identifier “1”, a program name“b/MA2”, a priority level “210”, an abstract service identifier “200”,and an abstract service automatic selection identifier “0”.

The service manager 1004 tries to obtain an XAIT after being started bythe OS 1001. Whereas the XAIT can be sent and obtained by any type ofmethods, it is sent by being stored in a place that is previouslydetermined by a specification, for example, using OOB. When obtainingthe XAIT shown in FIG. 21, the service manager 1004 searches for anabstract service whose abstract service automatic selection identifier2106 is 1, while analyzing the details. When the abstract service whoseabstract service automatic selection identifier 2106 is 1 is found, theservice manager 1004 reproduces the abstract service. Unlike the case ofreproducing the content to be broadcast, the service manager 1004 sends,as a process, an instruction to the AM 1005 b to start a monitorapplication without sending it to the Tuner 1005 c, the CA 1005 d, andthe JMF 1005 a. The process in the AM 1005 b is same as in the case ofthe channel at which a content is to be broadcast, and therefore theexplanation is omitted.

The started monitor application can control constituent elements in theterminal using the Java library 1005. For example, in the case where thestarted monitor application selects a channel instead of the EPG 1002,the same processing as in the case where the EPG 1002 selects a channelis performed by which the monitor application directly calls the Javalibrary 1005. Since the monitor application is a type of Java program,it is also possible that the monitor application selects a channel viathe service manager by calling a select (int channel) method that is theJava method provided by the service manager 1003. Accordingly, theapplication which is not related to a channel can be started. Morespecifically, the service manager 1004 can simultaneously manage two ormore services (that is, a channel at which a content is to be broadcastand an abstract service).

However, a specific restriction may be added. For example, the aboverestriction is assumed to be a restriction that only one of the contentsto be broadcast can be managed at one time. This restriction causes thefollowing: in the case where a content to be broadcast is currentlybeing reproduced (that is, the content is being viewed), upon receivingan instruction to reproduce another content to be broadcast, thecurrently being reproduced content is excluded from the management (thatis, the reproduction is stopped), and the another content is reproducedand managed (that is, the another content can be viewed).

Here, an example of the application to be started by the AM 1005 b isdescribed.

FIG. 22 shows an example of a Graphical User Interface (GUI) displayedon the display 509, for the application which performs trick play ofvideo and audio included in the recorded content, to accept theinstruction by the user. 2201 to 2207 respectively have a function ofinstructing the JMF 1005 a to perform trick play or normal reproductionof video and audio according to a user's selection using the input unit513. Specifically, 2201 has a function of moving a reproduction positionforward for a predetermined section forward, 2202 has a function ofrewind a reproduction, 2203 has a function of pause a reproduction, 2204has a function of stop a reproduction, 2205 has a function of normalreproduction, 2206 has a function of fast-forward a reproduction, and2207 has a function of moving a reproduction position backward for apredetermined section. The details about the method of moving, for apredetermined section, such positions of fast-forward and reproductionusing the JMF 1005 a is described in the explanation of the JMF 1005 a.

Here, as described in the above, the service manager 1004 can accept notonly reproduction instructions for the content being broadcast and theabstract service, but also a reproduction instruction for the contentrecorded in the secondary storage unit 510. As similar to thereproduction instruction of the broadcast content, the service manager1004 can instruct to reproduce the recorded content by providing therecorded data identifier 2301 to the service manager through JNI, or byproviding the recorded data identifier to the channel parameter of theselect (int channel) method that is the Java method provided by theservice manager 1004. The recorded data identifier is a value of therecorded data identifier 2301 shown in FIG. 23 and is assigned by therecording manager 1210. The detailed explanations about a format ofrecording data and the recording data identifier 2301 generated by therecording manager 1210 are given later.

It is described about the processing in the case where the servicemanager 1004 accepts a reproduction instruction of the recorded contentusing one of the aforementioned methods. Upon accepting the reproductioninstruction of the recorded content, the service manager 1004 passes theMPEG transport stream output from the secondary storage unit 510 to theTS decoder 505. Note that, it may be configured that the CA 1005 dperforms descrambling by scrambling the content at the time ofrecording.

Next, the service manager 1004 provides a JMF 1005 a inside the Java™library 1005 with a recorded data identifier 2301, so as to request forthe reproduction of the video/audio.

First, the JMF 1005 a obtains storage information 2303 corresponding tothe recorded data identifier 2301 from the data (FIG. 23) stored in therecording manager 1210. The storage information is a file path name forindicating a file location of the recorded content, that is, theadditional data such as video, audio and application. However, thestorage information 2303 may be passed from the service manager 1004instead of being obtained by the JMF 1005 a. The JMF 1005 a determines,from information stored as the storage information 2303, video/audio tobe reproduced, and reproduces the determined video/audio. A reproductionmethod can be realized by the aforementioned method shown in the case ofreproducing the channel at which a content is to be broadcast or by apublicly-known technique. It is thus less related to the presentinvention so that the detailed explanation is omitted. For example, PATand PMT are obtained from the recorded content, and video and audio arereproduced based on the information described in the obtained PMT.

Finally, the service manager 1004 provides the channel identifier to anAM 1005 b in the Java™ library 1005, so as to request for execution ofan application.

First, the AM 1005 b obtains storage information 2303 corresponding tothe recorded data identifier 2301 from the data (FIG. 23) stored in therecording manager 1210. However, the storage information 2303 may bepassed from the service manager 1004 instead of being obtained by the AM1005 b. The AM 1005 b obtains, from the information stored as thestorage information 2303, information relating to an application to beexecuted. Whereas a method of saving files which configured of anapplication and a method of obtaining an AIT depend on the recordingmethod used at the time of recording, the method of executing anapplication can be realized by a method shown in the case of executingthe application in the channel to be broadcast or by a publicly-knowntechnique. It is thus less related to the present invention, so that thedetailed explanation is omitted. Furthermore, the present invention canbe realized by any type of recording method or obtainment and analyzingmethods as long as the application in the recorded channel is to beexecuted.

While it is described in the above that the service manager 1004 cansimultaneously manage two or more services, in the case where thecontent to be broadcast can be recorded and reproduced, the servicemanager 1004 can accept reproduction instructions of three types ofservices (in other words, the content to be broadcast, the abstractservice and the recorded content), and perform management correspondingto the accepted instructions.

Here, referring to FIG. 24, it is described about an example withrespect to a management method performed by the service manager 1004.

The service manager 1004 retains the data structure in the primarystorage unit 511 shown in FIG. 24. A column 2401 describes servicetypes, each of which shows a type (in other words, one of theaforementioned three types) of service that is reproduced and managed. Acolumn 2402 describes service identifiers, each of which is anidentifier identified by one of the types, according to the servicetype. A row 2411 and a row 2412 respectively indicate a service that isreproduced and managed. The service indicated in the row 2411 has“Recorded content” as the service type 2401 and “Channel 1” as theservice identifier 2402. Furthermore, the service indicated in the row2412 has “Abstract service” as the service type 2401 and “100” as theservice identifier 2402.

More specifically, as an example, the service indicated in the row 2411is the one recorded the channel indicated in the row 1211 shown in FIG.12. The service has constituent elements of video, audio, application(originally the one transmitted in the DSMCC method) and AIT shown inFIG. 18. A state where the service indicated in the row 2411 is beingreproduced and managed shows a state in which the video and audio arebeing reproduced and the application is being executed. Morespecifically, an AIT is the one shown in FIG. 19, and an application(referred to as broadcast interlocking application hereinafter) having301 as a Java program identifier is executed in accordance with theaforementioned procedure. Furthermore, the service indicated in the row2412 is an abstract service that is reproduced and managed based on theXAIT shown in FIG. 21. A state where the service indicated in the row2412 is being reproduced and managed shows a state where an application(simply referred to as a monitor application hereinafter) having 401 asa Java program identifier is being executed, as shown in FIG. 21.

Hereinafter, using this state as a representative example, it isdescribed about the problems to be solved by the present invention andthe solution thereof.

The broadcast interlocking application can perform, using JMF 1005 a,trick play of video/audio being reproduced in association with thebroadcast interlocking application itself. The broadcast interlockingapplication can construct attractive details under pre-estimatedsituation, by two-way conjunction with the viewers.

However, if the monitor application can similarly perform trick play ofvideo/audio in association with the broadcast interlocking applicationusing JMF 1005 a, the broadcast interlocking application has to dealwith reproduction states as much as they cannot be taken intoconsideration. Therefore, it is difficult to generate an application andto keep quality of a program in which the application is included. Onthe contrary, in the case where the monitor application plays a mainrole such as an EPG, there is a possibility that an instruction fortrick play from the monitor application is interfered with the broadcastinterlocking application. In the case where the instruction for trickplay from the monitor application is an instruction based on anoperation of a remote control by the viewer, there is a sufficientpossibility that the viewer may be confused. Furthermore, in the casewhere two or more monitor applications are executed, there is apossibility that a discrepancy is caused for trick play instructionsamong monitor applications. The JMF specification does not include aframework for solving such problems.

In other to solve the aforementioned problems, the present inventionintroduces an exclusive control mechanism for trick play instructions.

FIG. 25 shows an internal structure of the JMF 1005 a. The JMF 1005 aincludes a moving picture trick play management unit 2501 and a movingpicture reproduction processing unit 2502.

The moving picture trick play management unit 2501 retains and managesspeed (reproduction speed) and time information for reproducing a movingpicture in the JMF 1005 a. Furthermore, reproduction speed and time canbe set and obtained from the application, the constituent elements inthe Java™ library 1005, or the service manager 1004 (they arecollectively referred to as external unit, hereinafter).

Reproduction speed indicates, for example, normal reproduction at thevalue of 1.0, fast-forward at the value larger than 1.0, stop at thevalue of 0.0, low-speed reproduction (slow) at the value that is largerthan 0.0 and smaller than 1.0, and rewind at the value smaller than 0.0.In other words, it indicates that normal reproduction applies to onlywhen the value is 1.0, and trick play applies to the values other than1.0. FIGS. 26A, 26B and 26C are diagrams schematically showingreproduction speed stored in the primary storage unit 511 by the movingpicture trick play management unit 2501 in the above cases. FIG. 26Ashows a state where 1.0 indicating normal reproduction is retained.Here, in the case where 2.0 is set as an instruction for fast-forwardsent from the external unit, the above state is changed to a state shownin FIG. 26B. Furthermore, in the case where −1.0 is set as aninstruction for rewind sent from the external unit, the above state ischanged to a state shown in FIG. 26C.

In addition, the moving picture trick play management unit 2501 alwaysretains reproduction speed of some kind. In other words, it hasreproduction speed of some kind as an initial value. For example, in thecase where reproduction speed has not been set by the external unit, itretains the value of 1.0. It should be noted that the present inventioncan be realized using number values other than the above, as long asnormal reproduction and trick play can be identified. Accordingly, anexpression indicating that normal reproduction or trick play is set isused hereinafter instead of specific number values. Furthermore, thesetting of reproduction speed instructs normal reproduction or trickplay.

Time information is time on a time axis of video/audio. Specifically,for example, in the case where the length of video/audio is sixtyminutes, zero minute indicates a head of the video/audio, sixty minutesindicate the end, and thirty minutes indicate the middle point. The timeinformation is also stored in the primary storage unit 511 as well asthe reproduction speed.

Referring to FIG. 25, the moving picture reproduction processing unit2502 reproduces video/audio to be reproduced, and instructs, to thesecondary storage unit 510, the audio decoder 506, or the video decoder508, the reproduction speed and time information obtained or instructedby the moving picture trick play management unit 2501. The audio decoder506 or the video decoder 508 can reproduce audio or video at aninstructed speed and time, as the result of which the secondary storageunit outputs an MPEG transport stream at the instructed speed and time.

Furthermore, the application, constituent elements in the Java™ library1005, or the service manager 1004 can change a designation ofvideo/audio to be reproduced and a reproduction state (a state of beingreproduced, a state of being stopped, and the like). In addition, themoving picture reproduction processing unit 2502 retains informationindicating what kind of instruction is currently being sent to the audiodecoder 506 or the video decoder 508 (this is referred to as areproduction status, hereinafter), so that it can reply the retaineddetails in response to a request from the external unit or the movingpicture trick play management unit 2501.

FIG. 27 is a method of Java which shows one example of moving picturetrick play management unit 2501. A setMediaTime method accepts time tobe used as a current time. For example, it is possible to move areproduction position to a top of the content by specifying the time 0.A getMediaTime method accepts a request to obtain time retained by themoving picture trick play management unit 2501, and sends the time back.A setRate method accepts number values indicating reproduction speed.For example, −1 indicates rewind, and 2 indicates double-speedreproduction. A getRate method accepts a request to obtain reproductionspeed retained by the moving picture trick play management unit 2501,and sends the reproduction speed back.

FIG. 28 is a method of Java which shows one example of a moving picturereproduction processing unit 2502. A start method accepts an instructionto start reproduction of video/audio. Upon accepting the aboveinstruction, information specified by the setMediaTime or setRate shownin FIG. 27 is used. Furthermore, a close method accepts an instructionto terminate the reproduction.

FIG. 29 is a flowchart which shows a procedure by which the movingpicture trick play management unit 2501 accepts an instruction to setreproduction speed from the external unit.

Upon receiving the instruction to set reproduction speed from theexternal unit, the moving picture trick play management unit 2501obtains details of the instruction (hereinafter, the obtained detailsare referred to as TA) (S2901), obtains reproduction speed which hasbeen stored in the primary storage unit 511 (hereinafter, the obtaineddetails are referred to as TB) (S2902), and compares between TA and TB(S2903). When TA is equivalent to TB, the processing is terminatedbecause there is no need for change. When TA is different from TB, it isdetermined whether or not TB indicates normal reproduction (S2904). WhenTB does not indicate normal reproduction (in other words, trick play), achange allowance determination is performed (S2905). The method ofchange allowance determination shall be later described in detail. Whenit is determined as “change denial” as the result of the changeallowance determination (S2906), the processing is terminated. When itis determined as “change allowance”, the details stored in the primarystorage unit 511 are replaced to TA (S2907). In S2904, the detailsstored in the primary storage unit 511 are replaced to TA even in thecase where TB indicates normal reproduction (S2907).

Next, the moving picture trick play management unit 2501 inquires themoving picture reproduction processing unit 2502 about a reproductionstatus, and determines whether or not the result indicates a state ofbeing reproduced (S2908). When it does not indicate the state of beingreproduced, the processing is terminated. When it indicates the state ofbeing reproduced, the moving picture trick play management unit 2501indicates a reproduction speed to the moving picture reproductionprocessing unit 2502 (S2909). Accordingly, the instruction to setreproduction speed from the external unit is reflected to a reproductionstatus of video and audio.

Note that, when it is determined as “change denial” in S2906, the changedenial may be notified to an instruction setter that made a settinginstruction of the reproduction speed. With respect to a notificationmethod, the present invention can be realized by any type of method suchan exceptional mechanism in Java™ language that is a publicly-knowntechnique.

FIG. 30 is a flowchart which shows a detailed procedure of the “changeallowance determination (S2905)”.

The moving picture trick play management unit 2501 specifies a setter(an application, constituent elements in the Java™ library 1005, or theservice manager 1004) which causes to retain TB (S3001). Hereinafter,the setter specified in S3001 is referred to as an “old setter”. Itshould be noted that a specific method of specifying a setter is lessrelated to the present invention, so that the explanation is omitted.For example, it can be realized using publicly-known techniques such asa method of using a process in which a setter operates or a thread.

Furthermore, it is assumed that the moving picture trick play managementunit 2501 can store, in the primary storage unit 511, informationrelating to the specified setter, and obtain the stored information.FIG. 31A and FIG. 31B are diagrams which schematically show informationrelating to a setter stored in the primary storage unit 511. In FIG.31A, the primary storage unit 511 retains “301” as a Java programidentifier. This indicates that current reproduction speed is set by theapplication having a Java program identifier of “301”. In the case wherethe primary storage unit 511 accepts a setting instruction ofreproduction speed from the application having a Java program identifierof “401”, a state shown in FIG. 31B is obtained. Furthermore, in thecase where the setter is other than the application (for example, theservice manager 1004), additional information or a special value (forexample, “−1”) may be retained. Regardless of types of information to beretained, the present invention can be realized as long as informationsufficiently enough to specify a setter can be retained.

Moreover, in a status where reproduction speed has never been set, itmay be determined that an instruction setter that sent an instructionfor reproduction to the JMF 1005 a (e.g. the service manager 1004 or theapplication), as an old setter or treated as that there is no oldsetter.

Next, referring to FIG. 30, the moving picture trick play managementunit 2501 specifies a setter which sent an instruction to setreproduction speed (S3002). Hereinafter, the setter specified in S3002is referred to as a “new setter”. Next, affinity verification between anold setter and a new setter is performed (S3003). Details of affinityverification are given later. Determining the result of the affinityverification (S3004), when it is determined that there is no affinity(S3004), the moving picture trick play management unit 2501 sends thedetermination result of “change denial” back (S3007), and terminates theprocessing. When it is determined that there is affinity, the movingpicture trick play management unit 2501 stores information about the newsetter into the primary storage unit 511 (S3005), sends thedetermination result of “change allowance” back (S3006), and terminatesthe processing.

Next, processing of affinity verification (S3003) shall be described.FIG. 32 is a flowchart which shows a procedure of the affinityverification.

The moving picture trick play management unit 2501 compares informationrelating to the old setter with information relating to the new setter,and determines their similarity (S3201). When determining that they aresame, the moving picture trick play management unit 2501 sends “withaffinity” back (S3202), and terminates the processing. When determiningthat they are different from each other, it sends “without affinity”back (S3203), and terminates the processing.

In addition, in the present embodiment, the ROM 512 can be deleted bymaking the secondary storage unit 510 retain the details retained by theROM 512. Further, the secondary storage unit 510 may be configured of aplurality of sub-secondary storage units, with each sub-secondarystorage unit storing different information. It is possible to preciselydivide the sub-secondary storage units: for example, only tuninginformation is stored in one of the sub-secondary storage units; thelibrary 1001 b of the OS 1001 is stored in another sub-secondary storageunit; downloaded Java™ programs are stored in yet another sub-secondarystorage unit; and so on.

Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the registered Java™ program andcontents are stored in the secondary storage unit 510, it is possible tostore them in the primary storage unit 511. In the case where they arestored in the primary storage unit 511, all stored informationdisappears when the power is turned off.

Accordingly, in a status where normal reproduction is set, it isrealized to receive a request from any setter and, in a status wheretrick play is set, it is realized to receive, an instruction to setreproduction speed/time only from the old setter. Therefore, it ispossible to prevent an occurrence of situation in which the reproductionstatus is changed by another new setter while the old setter isperforming trick play.

It should be noted that the details shown in FIG. 15 are not limited tothe details indicated herein, and they only need to include informationsufficient enough for recording processing. Furthermore, the details maybe configured of plural tables. In addition, whereas it is describedthat the details are stored in the primary storage unit 511, informationrelating to recording reservation can be retained even after the poweris cut-off by storing them in the secondary storage unit 510.

Second Embodiment

In the present embodiment, a procedure that is different from theprocedure of “affinity verification” described in the first embodimentis described.

The configuration of hardware in the present embodiment is same as theone in the first embodiment, so that redundant explanations are omitted.Specifically, it is the hardware configuration shown in FIG. 5. Inaddition, the configuration of software in the present embodiment issame as the one in the first embodiment, so that redundant explanationsare omitted. Specifically, it is the software configuration shown inFIG. 10. Furthermore, the operations of hardware and software are sameas those explained using FIGS. 1 to 26 in the first embodiment, exceptthe procedure of “affinity verification”, so that redundant explanationsare omitted.

In the case where there are plural applications in the same service, itis a common case that those applications recognize their existences andoperate in conjunction with each other. In such case, it is notnecessary to perform, among applications in the same service, exclusiveprocessing relating to trick play. Accordingly, while, in the firstembodiment, an old setter and a new setter are compared to determinewhether or not they are in complete match, in the present embodiment, itis characterized to compare services to which respective setters belong.

FIG. 33 is a flowchart which shows a procedure of the affinityverification in the present embodiment.

The moving picture trick play management unit 2501 specifies a serviceto which the old setter belongs (S3301). The detailed explanation abouta specific method for the specification is omitted in here since it isless related to the present invention. For example, the specificationcan be realized by which the AM 1005 b retains a relation betweeninformation relating to the service provided to the AM 1005 b by theservice manager 1004 and the application started by the AM 1005 b so asto allow the moving picture trick play management unit 2501 to obtainthe retained information. It should be noted that the informationrelating to the application can be realized in compliance with theprocedure described in the explanation of S3001 in FIG. 30.

Next, the moving picture trick play management unit 2501 specifies aservice to which the new setter belongs (S3302).

The moving picture trick play management unit 2501 then compares theservice to which the old setter belongs with the service to which thenew setter belongs, and determines whether or not they are the sameservice (S3303). With respect to the comparison method, the presentinvention can be realized using any types of method. For example, it canbe realized by comparing the service type 2401 with the serviceidentifier 2402 shown in FIG. 24.

In S3303, when it is determined that they are the same service, themoving picture trick play management unit 2501 sends the determinationresult of “with affinity” back (S3304), and terminates the processing.When it is determined that they are not the same service, the movingpicture trick play management unit 2501 sends the determination resultof “without affinity” back (S3305), and terminates the processing.

It should be noted that, in the present embodiment, information relatingto services is stored as information relating to setters in the processS3005 shown in FIG. 30, so that, in the process S3301 shown in FIG. 33,it is only necessary to obtain the retained details as a means forspecifying a service.

Accordingly, in a status where normal reproduction is set, it isrealized to receive a request from any setter, and, in the status wheretrick play is set, it is realized to receive, from only the setterbelonging to the same service as the old setter, a setting instructionof reproduction speed/time. It is thus possible to prevent an occurrenceof situation in which a new setter which belongs to a service other thanthe service to which the old setter belongs changes the reproductionstatus while the old setter is performing trick play.

Third Embodiment

In the present embodiment, a procedure that is different from theprocedure of “affinity verification” described in the first embodimentis described.

The configuration of hardware in the present embodiment is same as theone in the first embodiment, so that redundant explanations are omitted.Specifically, it is the hardware configuration shown in FIG. 5. Inaddition, the configuration of software in the present embodiment issame as the one in the first embodiment, so that redundant explanationsare omitted. Specifically, it is the software configuration shown inFIG. 10. Furthermore, the operations of hardware and software are sameas those explained using FIGS. 1 to 26 in the first embodiment, exceptthe procedure of “affinity verification”, so that redundant explanationsare omitted.

Accordingly, while, in the first embodiment, an old setter and a newsetter are compared to determine whether or not they are in completematch, in the present embodiment, it is characterized to comparepriorities given to the respective setters.

FIG. 34 is a flowchart which shows a procedure of the affinityverification in the present embodiment.

The moving picture trick play management unit 2501 compares prioritiesrespectively given to a new setter and an old setter (S3401). Here, inthe case of applications, a priority level is information included in anAIT shown in FIG. 19 or an XAIT shown in FIG. 21 and is given to eachapplication. Furthermore, in the case of constituent elements in theJava™ library 1005 or the service manager 1004, a predeterminedarbitrary number may be previously given as a priority level. In S3401,for example, in the case where a higher priority level is preferred, ifthe priority level of the old setter is higher than that of the newsetter, it is determined that the priority level is high. When it isdetermined that the priority level of the new setter is higher than thepriority level of the old setter, the moving picture trick playmanagement unit 2501 sends the determination result of “with affinity”back (S3402), and terminates the processing. On the other hand, when itis determined that the priority level of the new setter is lower thanthe priority level of the old setter, the moving picture trick playmanagement unit 2501 sends the determination result of “withoutaffinity” back (S3403), and terminates the processing. It should benoted that the present invention can be realized even any one of thedetermination results is made in the case where the priorities areequivalent to each other in S3401.

Accordingly, in a situation where normal reproduction is set, it isrealized to receive a request from any setter, and, in the situationwhere trick-play is set, it is realized to receive, from only the setterhaving a priority level higher than that of the old setter, a settinginstruction of reproduction speed/time. Consequently, it is possible toprevent an occurrence of situation in which a new setter having apriority level lower than that of the old setter changes thereproduction status while the old setter is performing trick play.

Fourth Embodiment

In the present embodiment, it is described about a new procedure of“affinity verification” that is a combination of characteristicsdescribed in the second and third embodiments.

The configuration of hardware in the present embodiment is same as theone in the first embodiment, so that redundant explanations are omitted.Specifically, it is the hardware configuration shown in FIG. 5. Inaddition, the configuration of software in the present embodiment issame as the one in the first embodiment, so that redundant explanationsare omitted. Specifically, it is the software configuration shown inFIG. 10. Furthermore, the operations of hardware and software are sameas those explained using FIGS. 1 to 26 in the first embodiment, exceptthe procedure of “affinity verification”, so that redundant explanationsare omitted.

In the second embodiment, a change allowance is determined based on adetermination about whether or not services are the same. In the thirdembodiment, a change allowance is determined by comparing priorities. Incontract, the present embodiment is characterized in that a changeallowance is determined by comparing the setters so as to determinewhether or not they belong to the same service, and also by comparingthe priorities.

FIG. 35 is a flowchart which shows a procedure of the affinityverification in the present embodiment. Same reference numbers areattached to the processes that are same in FIG. 33 and FIG. 34 so thatthe explanations about the same processes are omitted.

In S3303, when the services to which respective old and new settersbelong are different from each other, the determination result of“without affinity” is sent back (S3403), and the processing isterminated. When the services are the same, priorities of respective oldand new setters are compared (S3401). If the priority level of the newsetter is higher than that of the old setter, the determination resultof “with affinity” is sent back (S3402), and the processing isterminated. On the other hand, when the priority level of the old setteris higher than that of the new setter, the determination result of“without affinity” is sent back (S3203), and the processing isterminated. It should be noted that, also in the present embodiment, thepresent invention can be realized when any one of the determinationresults is made in the case where the priorities are equal to eachother.

Furthermore, in FIG. 35, comparison of priorities is performed after adetermination about whether or not the services are the same is made.However, the order of procedures may be reversed, FIG. 36 is a flowchartwhich shows the reversed procedure.

In the case where priorities of respective old and new setters arecompared (S3401), when the priority level of the new setter is higherthan that of the old setter, the determination result of “with affinity”is sent back (S3305), and the processing is terminated. On the otherhand, when the priority level of the new setter is higher than that ofthe old setter, specification of the service to which the old setterbelongs (S3301) and specification of the service to which the new setterbelongs (S3302) are performed and it is determined whether or not thespecified services are the same service (S3303). When the services towhich respective old and new setters belong are different from eachother, the determination result of “without affinity” is sent back(S3305), and the processing is terminated. When the services are thesame, the determination result of “with affinity” is sent back (S3304),and the processing is terminated.

Accordingly, in a status where normal reproduction is set, it isrealized to accept a request from any setter, and, in a status wheretrick play is set, it is realized to accept a setting instruction ofreproduction speed/time from only the setter belonging to the sameservice as the old setter and having a priority level higher than thatof the old setter. Consequently, while the old setter is performingtrick play, it is possible to prevent an occurrence of situation inwhich reproduction speed/time are changed by the new setter belonging toa service that is different from the service to which the old setterbelongs and prevent an occurrence of situation in which reproductionstatus is changed by the new setter having a lower priority level thanthe old setter.

Fifth Embodiment

In the present embodiment, a procedure that is different from theprocedure of “change allowance determination” described in the firstembodiment is explained.

The configuration of hardware in the present embodiment is same as theone in the first embodiment, so that redundant explanations are omitted.Specifically, it is the hardware configuration shown in FIG. 5. Inaddition, the configuration of software in the present embodiment issame as the one in the first embodiment, so that redundant explanationsare omitted. Specifically, it is the software configuration shown inFIG. 10. Furthermore, the operations of hardware and software are sameas those explained using FIGS. 1 to 26 in the first embodiment, exceptthe procedure of “change allowance determination”, so that redundantexplanations are omitted.

As shown in FIG. 30, in the first embodiment, a change allowance isdetermined by specifying an old setter and a new setter and verifyingaffinity between them. The present embodiment is characterized in thatthe affinity verification is performed by only specifying a new setter.

FIG. 37 is a flowchart which shows a procedure of “change allowancedetermination” in the present embodiment. Same reference numbers areused for the processes same as in FIG. 30 and the redundant explanationsare therefore omitted.

The moving picture trick play management unit 2501 specifies a newsetter (S3002), and performs affinity verification based on theinformation about the new setter (S3702). Details of affinityverification are given later. Next, a return value of the affinityverification is determined (S3703). When it is determined that there isno affinity as the result of the affinity verification, thedetermination result of “change denial” is sent back (S3705), and theprocessing is terminated. When it is determined that there is affinity,the determination result of “change allowance” is sent back (S3704), andthe processing is terminated.

Here, it is assumed that the moving picture trick play management unit2501 retains a list for identifying a setter that receives aninstruction to set reproduction speed (hereinafter, referred to as adetermination list). Details of determination list are given later.

Next, processing of affinity verification (S3702) is described. FIG. 38is a flowchart which shows a procedure of the affinity verification. Itshould be noted that same reference numbers are used for the processessame as in FIG. 30 and the redundant explanations are therefore omitted.

The moving picture trick play management unit 2501 specifies informationrelating to a new setter (S3801). It is determined whether or not thespecified information matches the information in the determination list(S3802). When determining that it matches the information in thedetermination list, the moving picture trick play management unit 2501sends the determination result of “with affinity” back (S3803), andterminates the processing. When determining that it is not matching theinformation in the determination list, the moving picture trick playmanagement unit 2501 sends the determination result of “withoutaffinity” back (S3804), and terminates the processing.

Here, it is described in detail about the determination list retained bythe moving picture trick play management unit 2501. Details included inthe determination list are information necessary for determining whetheror not the information specified in S3801 matches.

FIG. 39 is a diagram which schematically shows one example of thedetermination list in the case where information relating to the serviceto which the setter belongs in S3801 and a determination is made basedon the specified information. Here, “Recorded content” is retained as aservice type 3901. In this case, referring to FIG. 38, in the processingin S3801, it is determined that the specified information matches theinformation in the determination list only in the case where the servicetype of the service to which the new setter belongs is “Recordedcontent”. It should be noted that, while only the “Recorded content” isretained as a service type in here, plural service types may beretained. Furthermore, other service types that are different from the“Recorded content” may be stored as long as the service manager 1003 canidentify. Note that, in the case where plural service types areretained, it is determined that the specified information matches theinformation in the determination list if the information matches atleast one of the service types included therein.

FIG. 40 is a diagram which schematically shows one example of adetermination list retained by the moving picture trick play managementunit 2501.

A column 4001 describes service types and a column 4002 describesservice identifiers. A row 4011 and a row 4012 respectively indicate aservice that is being reproduced and managed. Furthermore, the serviceindicated in the row 4011 has “Recorded content” as the service type4001 and “Channel 1” as the service identifier 4002. Furthermore, theservice indicated in the row 4012 has “Recorded content” as the servicetype 4001 and “Channel 2” as the service identifier 4002.

In this case, referring to FIG. 38, it is determined that, in theprocessing in S3801, the information is included in the list only in thecase where the service type of the service to which a new setter belongsis “Recorded content” and the service identifier is “Channel 1” or“Channel 2”. It should be noted that the determination list can includeinformation other than service types or service identifiers. In suchcase, in the processing in S3801, the determination for determiningwhether or not the information is included in the determination listremains the same while details of the list change in accordance with thedetails of the list.

Next, an example in which determination is performed using a Javaprogram identifier as information relating to a new setter is described.FIG. 41 is a diagram which schematically shows one example of thedetermination list used for determination to be performed using a Javaprogram identifier. Here, the determination list retains “301” as a Javaprogram identifier 4101. In this case, referring to FIG. 38, it isdetermined, in the processing in S3801, that the specified informationmatches the information in the determination list only in the case wherethe Java program identifier relating to the new setter is “301”. Itshould be noted that, while only “301” is retained as the Java programidentifier in this case, plural Java program identifiers may beretained, and, in addition, a range can be specified (for example, arange from 301 to 310).

It should be also noted that the present invention can be realized evenin the case where details of the determination list retained by themoving picture trick play management unit 2501 cannot be updated sincepreviously determined values have been already stored.

Furthermore, the present invention can be realized even when the detailsare updated halfway through the processing. As the case of updating thedetails halfway through the processing, for example, it is possible toadd or replace information of a service instructed to the JMF 1005 afrom the service manager 1004.

Furthermore, it is possible to refuse all setting instructions by notputting anything in the determination list.

In addition, the details may be dynamically changed in accordance withan operation situation, for example, by setting, to a determinationlist, a service to which an application having the highest prioritylevel among the applications managed by the AM 1005 b belongs.

It should be noted that the external unit may be allowed to refer to orupdate the details of the determination list. In this case, somerestrictions (for example, a priority level, a Java program identifier,an authorization retained by an application, and the like) may beprovided.

Accordingly, in a status where normal reproduction is set, it isrealized to receive a request from any setters and, in the status wheretrick play is set, it is realized to receive, from only the setter whichmatches the information in the determination list, a setting instructionof reproduction speed/time. Therefore, it is possible to prevent anoccurrence of situation in which a reproduction status is changed byanother new setter while the old setter is performing trick play.

Sixth Embodiment

Differing from the first to fifth embodiments, the present embodiment ischaracterized in that change allowance determination is performeddespite the details of the retained reproduction speed (TB) in aprocedure at which the moving picture trick play management unit 2501receives an instruction to set a reproduction speed from the externalunit as shown in FIG. 29.

The configuration of hardware in the present embodiment is same as theone in the first embodiment, so that a redundant explanation is omitted.Specifically, it is the hardware configuration shown in FIG. 5. Inaddition, the configuration of software in the present embodiment issame as the one in the first embodiment, so that redundant explanationsare omitted. Specifically, it is the software configuration shown inFIG. 10. Furthermore, the operations of hardware and software are sameas those explained using FIGS. 1 to 26 in the first embodiment, exceptoperations of the moving picture trick play management unit 2501performed upon receiving a setting instruction of reproduction speedfrom the external unit, so that redundant explanations are omitted.

FIG. 42 is a flowchart, in the present embodiment, which shows aprocedure at which the moving picture trick play management unit 2501receives an instruction to set reproduction speed from the externalunit. Same reference numbers are used for the processes same as in FIG.29 and the explanations are therefore omitted in here.

The moving picture trick play management unit 2501 receives aninstruction to set reproduction speed from the external unit, anddetermines whether or not a change is allowed (S2905). The details aboutthe change allowance determination are applicable to a process describedin any one of the first to fifth embodiments, so that the explanationsare omitted in here. The moving picture trick play management unit 2501determines a return value in S2905 (S2906), and when determining thatchange is not allowed in S2905, terminates the processing. Whendetermining that change is allowed, the moving picture trick playmanagement unit 2501 obtains details of an instruction to setreproduction speed received from the external unit (S2901), obtainsreproduction speed that has been stored in the primary storage unit 511(S2902), and compares the obtained details and reproduction speed fordetermining whether or not they are the same (S2903). The processing isterminated when they are the same. When they are different from eachother, the details stored in the primary storage unit 511 are replacedto the details obtained in S2902 (S2907). Next, the moving picture trickplay management unit 2501 inquires the moving picture reproductionprocessing unit 2502 about a reproduction status, and determines whetheror not the result indicates that the reproduction is being performed(S2908). When it does not indicate that the reproduction is beingperformed, the processing is terminated. When it indicates that thereproduction is being performed, the moving picture trick playmanagement unit 2501 instructs a reproduction speed to the movingpicture reproduction processing unit 2502 (S2909). Accordingly, theinstruction to set reproduction speed from the external unit isreflected to a reproduction status of video and audio.

Consequently, it can be prevented to cause situation in which anunexpected new setter changes a reproduction situation, by performingchange allowance determination described in the first to fifthembodiments, despite the fact whether or not normal reproduction is set.

Seventh Embodiment

Differing from the first to sixth embodiments, the present embodiment ischaracterized in that whether or not an instruction to set areproduction speed is accepted is determined in advance before aninstruction to set reproduction speed is made.

The configuration of hardware in the present embodiment is same as theone in the first embodiment, so that redundant explanations are omitted.Specifically, it is the hardware configuration shown in FIG. 5. Inaddition, the configuration of software in the present embodiment issame as the one in the first embodiment, so that redundant explanationsare omitted. Specifically, it is the software configuration shown inFIG. 10. Furthermore, the operations of hardware and software are sameas those explained using FIGS. 1 to 26 in the first embodiment, exceptpoints that the moving picture trick play management unit 2501 performsrecording reservation allowance determination processing and thatdifferent operations of change allowance determination of reproductionspeed are performed, so that redundant explanations are omitted.

FIG.43 is a method of Java which shows one example of a unit ofprocessing a recording reservation request. A reserve method accepts arecording reservation request. A release method accepts a request torelease the recording reservation status.

In the present embodiment, it is described about the case where themoving picture trick play management unit 2501 has units shown asexamples in FIG. 43.

FIG. 44 is a flowchart which shows a procedure of recording reservationprocessing performed by the moving picture trick play management unit2501 in the case where a setter makes a recording reservation request tothe moving picture trick play management unit 2501 in order topredetermine whether or not to receive an instruction to setreproduction speed.

The moving picture trick play management unit 2501 receives a recordingreservation request from a setter and performs recording reservationallowance determination (S4401). Next, it determines a return value of arecording reservation allowance determination (S4402). Details ofrecording reservation allowance determination are given later. As theresult of recording reservation allowance determination, the movingpicture trick play management unit 2501 terminates the processing whenthe determination result of “reservation denial” is sent back. In thiscase, it indicates that a setter which sent a recording reservationrequest could not program the recording. In S4401, the moving picturetrick play management unit 2501 changes the recording reservation status(S4403) when the determination result of “reservation allowance” is sentback, and terminates the processing. In this case, it indicates that asetter which sent a recording reservation request could program therecording. It should be noted that the setter (in other words, thesetter which could program the recording) which sent a recordingreservation request herein is referred to as a reservation holder. Thiscase also indicates that, for the reservation holder which haspreviously programmed the recording reservation, the recordingreservation is taken by another new reservation holder. Therefore, itmay be notified to the previous reservation holder that the recordingreservation has been taken by another reservation holder.

It should be noted that, in S4403, the setter indicates the setter whichprogrammed the recording so that S4403 is same as in the case whereinformation relating to the setter which programmed the recording isretained in S3005 according to the first embodiment.

It should be also noted that the result about whether or not therecording reservation has been programmed may be notified to the setterwhich sent a recording reservation request. With respect to thenotification method, the present invention can be realized using anytype of method such as an exceptional mechanism in Java™ language thatis a publicly-known technique and a return value of method.

FIG. 45 is a flowchart which shows a detailed procedure of the“recording reservation allowance determination (S4401)”.

A moving picture trick play management unit 2501 performs affinityverification (S4501). Details about the affinity verification can berealized by applying any one of the affinity verifications described inthe first to sixth embodiments. As the result in S4501, the movingpicture trick play management unit 2501 determines whether or not thedetermination result of “with affinity” is sent back (S4502), sends“reservation allowance” back in the case of “with affinity” (S4503), andterminates the processing. In the case of “without affinity”, it sends“reservation denial” back (S4504), and terminates the processing.

Next, in the present embodiment, it is described about a procedureperformed at the time when the moving picture trick play management unit2501 receives an instruction to set reproduction speed from the externalunit.

The procedure at the time when the moving picture trick play managementunit 2501 receives an instruction to set reproduction speed from theexternal unit follows the flowcharts of FIG. 29 in the first embodimentand of FIG. 42 in the sixth embodiment. However, “change allowancedetermination (S2905)” in FIG. 29 and FIG. 42 is different in thepresent embodiment.

FIG. 46 is a flowchart which shows a detailed procedure of the “changeallowance determination (S2905)” in the present embodiment.

First, the moving picture trick play management unit 2501 specifies asetter which has instructed to change reproduction speed (S4601). Itshould be noted that the specific method of specifying a setter is sameas described in the above. Next, the moving picture trick playmanagement unit 2501 determines whether or not the specified setter is areservation holder (S4602). The specific determination method can berealized, for example, by storing a Java program identifier of thereservation holder in the primary storage unit 511 in S3005, andcomparing the stored Java program identifier of the reservation holderwith a Java program identifier of the setter in S4601. FIG. 47 is adiagram which schematically shows one example of a state in which themoving picture trick play management unit 2501 stores, in the primarystorage unit 511, “301” as a Java program identifier of a reservationholder.

In S4602, when determining that the setter is the reservation holder,the moving picture trick play management unit 2501 sends “changeallowance” back (S4603), and terminates the processing. When determiningthat the setter is not the reservation holder, the moving picture trickplay management unit 2501 sends “change denial” back (S4604), andterminates the processing,

It should be noted that, whereas an example of determination processingusing Java program identifiers was shown in the above, the presentinvention can be realized using any type of information attached to asetter, as long as the information is sufficiently enough for thedetermination processing in S4502.

For example, it is described, as another format, about the case wheredetermination is performed based on a service to which a setter belongs.

In this case, in S4602, information relating to the service to which thesetter belongs is obtained and used for comparison. It can be realized,for example, by previously storing, in the primary storage unit 511, aservice identifier of the service to which the reservation holderbelongs in S3005, and comparing the stored service identifier of thereservation holder with a service identifier of a service to which thesetter belongs in S4601.

FIG. 48 is a diagram which schematically shows one example of a state inwhich the moving picture trick play management unit 2501 stores, in theprimary storage unit 511, “Channel 1” as a service identifier of aservice to which a reservation holder belongs.

Further, a unit other than the moving picture trick play management unit2501 (that is, in the case where units shown as an example in FIG. 43are included in a unit other than the moving picture trick playmanagement unit 2501) performs recording reservation processing(recording reservation processing shown in FIG. 44 and FIG. 45 or a partof the processing) and determination in S4602, while the moving picturetrick play management unit 2501 may request the unit to performdetermination in S4602, and judge only the determination result.

For example, by placing a new reservation management unit in the Javalibrary 1005, the new reservation management unit may perform recordingreservation processing and determination in S4602. FIG. 49 is a blockdiagram in the case where the reservation management unit 4905 f isincluded in the Java library 1005. In this case, the setter sends arecording reservation request not to the moving picture trick playmanagement unit 2501 but to the reservation management unit 4905 f, inorder to decide whether or not an instruction to set reproduction speedis previously received. When receiving the recording reservation requestsent from the setter, the reservation management unit 4905 f performsprocessing following the flowcharts shown in FIG. 44 and FIG. 45,

It should be noted that, in the case of a program such as the servicemanager 1004 and the recording manager 1210 which can be instructed fromthe JMF 1005 a, the present invention can be realized by including theprocessing of the reservation management unit 4905 f in the program andusing the program as the reservation management unit 4905.

Accordingly, the setter which could make recording reservationprocessing can always change reproduction speed and can prevent anoccurrence of situation in which a reproduction status is changed byanother setter as long as the recording reservation is not taken by theanother setter.

Eighth Embodiment

The present embodiment is characterized in that AIT or XAIT determineswhether or not to allow changing reproduction speed. The configurationof hardware in the present embodiment is same as the one in the firstembodiment, so that redundant explanations are omitted. Specifically, itis the hardware configuration shown in FIG. 5. In addition, theconfiguration of software in the present embodiment is same as the onein the first embodiment, so that redundant explanations are omitted.Specifically, it is the software configuration shown in FIG. 10.Furthermore, the operations of hardware and software are same as thoseexplained using FIGS. 1 to 26 in the first embodiment, except thatconfigurations of AIT and XAIT are different and that change allowancedetermination procedure of reproduction speed by the moving picturetrick play management unit 2501 is different, so that redundantexplanations are omitted.

FIG. 50 shows one example of AIT which includes a reproduction speedchange allowance flag 5001 in addition to details of the AIT shown inFIG. 19.

FIG. 51 shows an example of AIT which includes a reproduction speedchange allowance flag 5001 in addition to details of the XAIT shown inFIG. 21.

In the present embodiment, it is assumed that applications to be startedare all started by the AM 1005 b based on the information shown in FIG.50 or FIG. 51. While the moving picture trick play management unit 2501performs processing shown in FIG. 29 or FIG. 42 when receiving aninstruction to set reproduction speed from the external unit, theprocessing of “change allowance determination (S2905)” is different inthe present embodiment.

FIG. 52 is a flowchart which shows detailed processing of the “changeallowance determination (S2905)” in the present embodiment. Samereference numbers are used for the processes same as in FIG. 30 and theexplanations about the same processes are therefore omitted.

The moving picture trick play management unit 2501 obtains a changeallowance flag relating to a setter, and determines whether or not theobtained change allowance flag is 1 (S5201). Note that, while the abovejudgment is made based on the information of 1, any type of informationthat is different from 1 can be used to realize the above processing aslong as the information can be used for change allowance determination.When the change allowance flag is 1, the moving picture trick playmanagement unit 2501 stores information relating to the setter (S3005),sends the determination result of “change allowance” back (S3006), andterminates the processing. When the change allowance flag is not 1, themoving picture trick play management unit 2501 sends the determinationresult of “change denial” back (S3007), and terminates the processing.

Accordingly, it can be determined whether or not an instruction to setreproduction speed can be allowed according to change allowance flagsincluded in AIT or XAIT. Therefore, it can be learned in advance aboutwhether or not there are possibilities that the reproduction speed is tobe changed by another new setter, and that to which set value thereproduction speed is changed.

Ninth Embodiment

The present embodiment is characterized in that a change of reproductionspeed can be instructed by instructing to start reproduction of therecorded content and that a change of reproduction speed cannot beinstructed by instructing to stop the reproduction of the recordedcontent.

The configuration of hardware in the present embodiment is same as theone in the first embodiment, so that redundant explanations are omitted.Specifically, it is the hardware configuration shown in FIG. 5. Inaddition, the configuration of software in the present embodiment issame as the one in the first embodiment, so that redundant explanationsare omitted. Specifically, it is the software configuration shown inFIG. 10. Furthermore, the operations of hardware and software are sameas those explained using FIGS. 1 to 26 in the first embodiment, exceptthat operations of the moving picture reproduction processing unit 2502at the time of reproduction start and ending instructions are differentand that operations of the moving picture trick play reproductionmanagement unit 2501 for the change allowance determination ofreproduction speed are different, so that redundant explanations areomitted.

When an application instructs to start video/audio reproduction by astart method of the moving picture trick play processing unit 2502, inaddition to the operations described in the first embodiment, the movingpicture trick play processing unit 2502 stores, into the primary storageunit, a Java program identifier for identifying the application whichhas called the start method. Accordingly, the application reserves aninstruction to set reproduction speed of the content which has beenstarted reproducing by the start method, that is, the application has aright to change the reproduction speed of the current content. On theother hand, when the application which has called said start instructsto terminate the reproduction of video/audio by the close method of themoving picture reproduction processing unit 2502, in addition to theoperations described in the first embodiment, the moving pictureplayback processing unit 2502 deletes a Java program identifier foridentifying the application which has called the start method stored inthe primary storage unit.

Accordingly, the application releases the reservation of the instructionof setting the reproduction speed of the content which has started thereproduction by the start method, that is, the application abandons theright to change the reproduction speed of the current content. Otheroperations of the moving picture reproduction processing unit 2502 aresame as those described in the first embodiment.

FIG. 46 is a flowchart which shows a detailed procedure of the “changeallowance determination (S2905)” performed by the moving picture trickplay management unit 2501 in the present embodiment. Except theoperation of the change allowance determination, the moving picturetrick play management unit 2501 of the present embodiment is same as themoving picture trick play management unit in the first embodiment. Itshould be noted that, while FIG. 46 is used in the seventh embodiment,it is used again in the present embodiment.

First, the moving picture trick play management unit 2501 identifies asetter, in other words, an application, which has made an instruction tochange reproduction speed (S4601). It should be noted that the specificmethod of identifying the setter is same as described in the above.Next, the moving picture trick play management unit 2501 determineswhether or not the identified setter is a reservation holder (S4602).The specific determination method can be realized, for example, bycomparing the Java program identifier of the reservation holder recordedin the primary storage unit 511 by the moving picture processing unit2502 with the Java program identifier of the setter identified in S4601.

In S4602, when determining that the identified setter is a reservationholder, the moving picture trick play management unit 2501 sends “changeallowance” back (S4603), and terminates the processing.

It should be noted that, while an example of determination processingusing Java program identifiers are shown in the present embodiment, thepresent invention can be realized using any type of information attachedto the setter unless there are sufficient information for thedetermination processing in S4502.

For example, as another method, it is described a case where thedetermination is performed based on services to which setters belong.

In this case, in S4602, the information relating to the services towhich the setters belong are obtained and compared. For example, it canbe realized by which the moving picture reproduction processing unitstores, in the primary storage unit 511, a service identifier of theservice to which the reservation holder belongs, and the moving trickplay management unit 2501 compares, in S4601, said service identifierwith the service identifier to which a setter belongs.

Accordingly, only the setter that has successfully made a recordingreservation by the reproduction start instruction of a content canchange the reproduction speed and the occurrence of situation in whichthe reproduction status is changed by another setter can be prevented aslong as the reservation is not taken by another setter.

Tenth Embodiment

The present embodiment is characterized in that a change of reproductionspeed can be instructed by instructing a service manager to select arecorded content, and that a change of reproduction speed cannot beinstructed by instructing the service manager to cancel the selection ofthe recorded content.

The configuration of hardware in the present embodiment is same as theone in the first embodiment, so that redundant explanations are omitted.Specifically, it is the hardware configuration shown in FIG. 5. Inaddition, the configuration of software in the present embodiment issame as the one in the first embodiment, so that redundant explanationsare omitted. Specifically, it is the software configuration shown inFIG. 10. Furthermore, the operations of hardware and software are sameas those explained using FIGS. 1 to 26 in the first embodiment, exceptthat operations of the service manager 1004 after selecting the contentand that operations of the moving picture trick play reproductionmanagement unit 2501 for the change allowance determination ofreproduction speed are different, so that redundant explanations areomitted.

When the application selects and instructs a content recorded by theselect (int channel) method of the service manager 1004, in addition tooperations described in the first embodiment, the service manager 1004stores, into the primary storage unit, a Java program identifier foridentifying the application which has called the select method.Accordingly, the current application reserves an instruction to setreproduction speed of “Recorded content” which has started reproducingby the select method, in other words, the application has a right tochange the reproduction speed of the current content.

On the other hand, in the case where the application which has calledthe aforementioned select instructs to cancel the selection ofvideo/audio by instructing null to the channel parameter of the select(int channel) of the service manager 1004, in addition to operationsdescribed in the first embodiment, the service manager 1004 deletes theJava program identifier for identifying the application which has calledthe select method stored in the primary storage unit. Accordingly, theapplication releases a reservation of the instruction to set thereproduction speed of the “Recorded content” which has started beingreproduced by the select method, that is, the application abandons theright to change the reproduction speed of the current content. Otheroperations of the service manager 1004 are same as in the firstembodiment.

FIG. 46 is a flowchart which shows a detailed procedure of the “changeallowance determination (S2905)” performed by the moving picture trickplay management unit 2501 in the present embodiment. Except theoperation of the change allowance determination, the moving picturetrick play management unit 2501 of the present embodiment is same as themoving picture trick play management unit in the first embodiment. Itshould be noted that, while FIG. 46 is used in the seventh embodiment,it is used again in the present embodiment.

First, the moving picture trick play management unit 2501 identifies asetter, in other words, an application, which has made an instruction tochange reproduction speed (S4601). It should be noted that the specificmethod of identifying the setter is same as described in the above.Next, the moving picture trick play management unit 2501 determineswhether or not the identified setter is a reservation holder (S4602).The specific determination method can be realized, for example, bycomparing the Java program identifier of the reservation holder recordedin the primary storage unit 511 by the service manager 1004, that is,the application which has called the select method and instructed toselect “Recorded content”, with the Java program identifier of thesetter identified in S4601.

In S4602, when determining that the identified setter is a reservationholder, the moving picture trick play management unit 2501 sends “changeallowance” back (S4603), and terminates the processing.

It should be noted that, while an example of determination processingusing Java program identifiers are shown in the present embodiment, thepresent invention can be realized using any type of information attachedto the setter unless there are sufficient information for thedetermination processing in S4502.

For example, as another method, it is described a case where thedetermination is performed based on services to which setters belong.

In this case, in S4602, the information relating to the services towhich the setters belong are obtained and compared. For example, it canbe realized by which the service manager 1004 stores, in the primarystorage unit 511, a service identifier of the service to which thereservation holder belongs, and the moving trick play management unit2501 compares, in S4601, said service identifier with the serviceidentifier to which a setter belongs.

Accordingly, only the setter that has successfully made a reservation bythe reproduction start instruction of a content can change thereproduction speed and the occurrence of situation in which thereproduction status is changed by another setter can be prevented aslong as the reservation is not taken by another setter.

In the above, the first to ninth embodiments of the present inventionwere explained.

It should be noted that in the first to ninth embodiments, the presentinvention can be realized by applying any type of recording unit and areproduction unit, as long as video and audio are reproduced included ina recorded content upon reproducing the recorded content, and in thecase where the video and audio are included in an application, as longas the application is to be executed. Note that, in the allaforementioned embodiments, as another recording method, the outputsfrom the audio encoder 2101 and the video encoder 2102 may be stored inthe second storage unit 510. In such case, one of the followingprocesses is taken the output destinations of the audio encoder 2101 andthe video encoder 2102 are previously determined as the second storageunit 510; and the CPU 154 instructs, to the audio encoder 2101 and thevideo encoder 2102, the secondary storage unit 510 as the outputdestination.

Furthermore, as another recording method, the CPU 154 can designate themultiplexer 2103 as the output destination for the audio encoder 2101and the video encoder 2102.

Furthermore, as another recording method, the output from the QAMdemodulation unit 501 may be directly recorded onto the secondarystorage unit 510 without through the POD 504.

Furthermore, as another recording method, the output from the QAMdemodulation unit 501 may be outputted to the TS decoder 505 withoutthrough the POD 504, the output from the TS decoder 505 may be inputtedto the multiplexer 2103, and the output from the multiplexer 2103 may berecorded onto the secondary storage unit 510.

Note that, in the case where a content is recorded without through thePOD 504 (in other words, in the case where there is a possibility thatthe content remains to be encoded), it is necessary to bypass the POD504 at the stage of reproducing the recorded content.

It should be also noted that, as a recording method, the output from themultiplexer 2103 may be stored in the secondary storage unit 510. Insuch case, one of the following processes is taken: the outputdestination of the multiplexer 2103 is previously determined as thesecondary storage unit 510; and the CPU 154 designates the secondarystorage unit 510 as the output destination of the multiplexer 2103.

Furthermore, as another recording method, the CPU 154 can designate thesecondary storage unit 510 as the output destination of the TS decoder505.

Furthermore, as another recording method, the CPU 154 can designate themultiplexer 2103 as the output destination of the TS decoder 505, andthe secondary storage unit 510 as the output destination of themultiplexer 2103.

Furthermore, in the case where information other than video and audio,for example, details of DSMCC including an application, are recorded,data to be stored from among the outputs from the TS decoder 505 areprocessed by the CPU 514 and then directly stored into the secondarystorage unit 510.

Furthermore, it is possible that the data to be stored from among theoutputs from the TS decoder 505 are outputted to the multiplexer 2103,the outputs are multiplexed by the multiplexer 2103 together with theoutputs from the audio encoder 2101 and the video encoder 2102, and theresultants are stored in the secondary storage unit 510.

Note that, while a large-capacity medium such as a hard-disk and aDVD-RAM is preferred for the secondary storage unit 510, any medium isapplicable as long as it is recordable.

Note that, the data treated as inputs and outputs of the TS decoder 505,the audio decoder 506, the video decoder 508, the audio encoder 2101,the video encoder 2102 and the multiplexer 2103 may be arbitrary encodedat an arbitrary stage.

The recorded contents may record the details included in the originalcontents (in other words, video, audio, application and the like)simultaneously with their relevance and additional information (forexample, time and program information).

It should be noted that the present invention can be realized as long asthe recorded contents can be reproduced despite recording methods andrecording units.

Although only some exemplary embodiments of this invention have beendescribed in detail above, those skilled in the art will readilyappreciate that many modifications are possible in the exemplaryembodiments without materially departing from the novel teachings andadvantages of this invention. Accordingly, all such modifications areintended to be included within the scope of this invention.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The recording and reproduction apparatus (the moving picturereproduction apparatus) according to the present invention determines,in response to an instruction for normal reproduction or trick play,whether or not the instruction to be accepted in accordance with a rule.In the case of accepting the instruction, the moving picturereproduction apparatus includes a moving picture trick play managementunit which retains details of the instruction and a moving picturereproduction processing unit which reproduces a moving picture based onthe details retained by the moving picture trick play management unit,so that, in the moving picture reproduction by the digital televisionreceiving device, the present invention can prevent occurrence of areproduction status that is not expected by an application and thepresent invention is useful for increasing stability of operations ofthe application. Furthermore, the present invention can be applied foran increase of stability of operations of information devices controlledby software, such as not only a digital television but also a personalcomputer and a cellular phone.

1. A recording and reproduction apparatus which receives and records acontent included in a broadcast wave, and executes an applicationprogram included in a predetermined service in parallel withreproduction of the recorded content, said recording and reproductionapparatus comprising: a storage unit in which the received content andthe application program are stored; an execution unit operable toexecute the application program; a reproduction unit operable toreproduce the content stored in said storage unit; and a reproductionspeed control unit operable to receive a reproduction speed of thecontent requested by the application program, and to control areproduction speed of the content to be reproduced by said reproductionunit so as to be in the received reproduction speed, wherein, in thecase where there are a first application program which has requested thereproduction speed of the content already accepted as a normalreproduction and a second application program which requests a newreproduction speed, when receiving the new reproduction speed request,said reproduction speed control unit is operable to accept the newreproduction speed request from the second application program.
 2. Arecording and reproduction apparatus which receives and records acontent included in a broadcast wave, and executes an applicationprogram included in a predetermined service in parallel withreproduction of the recorded content, said recording and reproductionapparatus comprising: a storage unit in which the received content andthe application program are stored; an execution unit operable toexecute the application program; a reproduction unit operable toreproduce the content stored in said storage unit; and a reproductionspeed control unit operable to receive a reproduction speed of thecontent requested by the application program, and to control areproduction speed of the content to be reproduced by said reproductionunit so as to be in the received reproduction speed, wherein in the casewhere a first application program which has requested the reproductionspeed of the content already accepted as a normal reproduction and asecond application program which requests a new reproduction speed aredifferent, when receiving the new reproduction speed request, saidreproduction speed control unit is operable to compare a priority levelof the first application program with a priority level of the secondapplication program, and to control the reproduction speed of thecontent so as to be in a reproduction speed requested by the applicationwith a higher priority level.
 3. The recording and reproductionapparatus according to claim 1, wherein said reproduction speed controlunit is operable to: determine whether or not the first applicationprogram and the second application program belong to different servicesby comparing information relating to an identifier of a service to whichthe first application program belongs with information relating to anidentifier of a service to which the second application program belongs;and refuse a reproduction speed change request from the secondapplication program, in the case where the second application programdoes not belong to the service of the first application program.
 4. Therecording and reproduction apparatus according to claim 1, wherein saidreproduction speed control unit is operable to: determine whether or notthe first application program and the second application program belongto different services by comparing information relating to an identifierof a service to which the first application program belongs withinformation relating to an identifier of a service to which the secondapplication program belongs; and in the case where the secondapplication program belongs to the service of the first applicationprogram, when a priority level of the second application program ishigher than a priority level of the first application program, controlthe reproduction speed of the content so as to be in the reproductionspeed requested by the second application program.
 5. The recording andreproduction apparatus according to claim 4, wherein, in the case wherethe priority level of the first application program is same as thepriority level of the second application program, said reproductionspeed control unit is operable to control the reproduction speed of thecontent so as to be in the reproduction speed requested by the secondapplication program.
 6. The recording and reproduction apparatusaccording to claim 2, wherein the reproduction speed of the contentwhich has been already accepted having been requested by the firstapplication program is a reproduction speed which is different from thereproduction speed for a normal reproduction.
 7. A recording andreproduction method for receiving and recording a content included in abroadcast wave, and executing an application program included in apredetermined service in parallel with reproduction of the recordedcontent, said recording and reproduction method comprising: storing thereceived content and the application program; executing the applicationprogram; reproducing the content stored in said storing; and receiving areproduction speed of the content requested by the application program,and controlling a reproduction speed of the content to be reproduced insaid reproducing so as to be in the received reproduction speed,wherein, in the case where there are a first application program whichhas requested the reproduction speed of the content already accepted asa normal reproduction and a second application program which requests anew reproduction speed, when receiving the new reproduction speedrequest, said controlling includes accepting the new reproduction speedrequest from the second application program.
 8. A recording andreproduction method for receiving and recording a content included in abroadcast wave, and executing an application program included in apredetermined service in parallel with reproduction of the recordedcontent, said recording and reproduction method comprising: storing thereceived content and the application program; executing the applicationprogram; reproducing the content stored in said storing; and receiving areproduction speed of the content requested by the application program,and controlling a reproduction speed of the content to be reproduced insaid reproducing so as to be in the received reproduction speed, whereinin the case where a first application program which has requested thereproduction speed of the content already accepted as a normalreproduction and a second application program which requests a newreproduction speed are different, when receiving the new reproductionspeed request, said controlling includes comparing a priority level ofthe first application program with a priority level of the secondapplication program, and controlling the reproduction speed of thecontent so as to be in a reproduction speed requested by the applicationprogram with a higher priority level.
 9. The recording and reproductionapparatus according to claim 2, wherein said reproduction speed controlunit is operable to: determine whether or not the first applicationprogram and the second application program belong to different servicesby comparing information relating to an identifier of a service to whichthe first application program belongs with information relating to anidentifier of a service to which the second application program belongs;and refuse a reproduction speed change request from the secondapplication program, in the case where the second application programdoes not belong to the service of the first application program.
 10. Therecording and reproduction apparatus according to claim 2, wherein saidreproduction speed control unit is operable to: determine whether or notthe first application program and the second application program belongto different services by comparing information relating to an identifierof a service to which the first application program belongs withinformation relating to an identifier of a service to which the secondapplication program belongs; and in the case where the secondapplication program belongs to the service of the first applicationprogram, when a priority level of the second application program ishigher than a priority level of the first application program, controlthe reproduction speed of the content so as to be in the reproductionspeed requested by the second application program.
 11. The recording andreproduction apparatus according to claim 10, wherein, in the case wherethe priority level of the first application program is same as thepriority level of the second application program, said reproductionspeed control unit is operable to control the reproduction speed of thecontent so as to be in the reproduction speed requested by the secondapplication program.